It’s a cool, wet spring morning at Northwest Trek, and keeper Wendi is cleaning out the fisher habitat. She scoops some poop, then bends down intently. “Aha!” she exclaims, and reaches out a gloved hand. It’s a banana slug, long, mottled and yellow – and Wendi scoops it up in all its slimy glory. Slug Fest is coming, and Northwest Trek is getting ready. Slug Hunting “Fifty to sixty degrees and raining, that’s prime slug hunting time,” explains Wendi. One of the Wetlands keepers, she’s taking part in the staff’s Longest Slug Contest for the ever-popular annual Slug Fest event, …

Both the black bears and grizzly bears are well-awake from their winter naps and energetic in their habitats at Northwest Trek. The grizzly “brothers” are playful and can often be seen splashing in their 7-foot deep pool, wrestling one another, head-butting and searching for hidden treats keepers have left them. The black bears next door can also be seen walking or running through their habitat and playing with enrichment from the keepers. It’s an exciting time of year for both the bears and the visitors who get to see them! But, seeing bears in the wild, while exciting, requires you …

The Cheney Discovery Center reopens May 3 at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and will be open daily from 11am-4pm. The recently remodeled building invites guests of all ages to discover a tiny world of reptiles and amphibians like a gopher snake, northern leopard frogs, rough-skinned newts and more. “There are new species and animals to meet and new educational puzzles and games to play,” said Education Curator Craig Standridge. “We are delighted to welcome guests back into this world of wonder to learn more about the smaller creatures of the Pacific Northwest.” NORTHERN LEOPARD FROGS New in the Cheney Discovery …

Wolverines are tough survivors. They are exposed to harsh, frozen Northwest mountain winters. They are agile climbers, strong diggers, and aren’t afraid of anything. At Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Ahma the wolverine has proved to be all those things and more in her 15 years of life. She is the second oldest wolverine in human care in the United States. And over the past few weeks, she has faced her biggest challenge yet: having surgery to remove both of her eyes after her animal care team noticed a significant change in her eye color and was diagnosed with a lens …

Our Free-Roaming Area is a 435-acre Northwest paradise for herds of Roosevelt elk, bison, moose, caribou, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer and swan. In addition to the elegant trumpeter swans—the largest extant species of waterfowl, there is a varied and wide-ranging number of waterfowl species that—for at least part of the year—call the ponds and lakes at Northwest Trek their home. The Green-winged Teal is North America’s smallest dabbling duck. What is a dabbling duck you may wonder? A dabbling duck is a type of shallow water duck that feeds primarily along the surface of the water or by tipping …

It’s spring cleaning season at Northwest Trek and our maintenance staff recently used their big lift to retrieve small tree limbs that had fallen on top of the netting of Eagle Passage, while pressure washing around the area, too. So our animal care and veterinary teams took advantage of the opportunity to give annual health exams to bald eagles Sequoia, Sucia, Salish and Cheveyo. All four rescued birds traveled to the onsite veterinary clinic where they got a massive “hug” from Keeper Wendi. Because it was not necessary to anesthetize the bald eagles during these exams, animal care and veterinary …

There are plenty of signs of spring at Northwest Trek: skunk cabbage and red flowering currant are blooming, fern fiddleheads are unfurling, Oregon grape is blossoming, birds are chirping, and the grizzly “brothers” are waking up from their winter naps and becoming more playful every day. After being in a state of torpor (a form of hibernation) all winter, Huckleberry and Hawthorne can be seen playing and exploring in their forested habitat. “A stick in their habitat recently caught Hawthorne’s attention and he rolled around with it all day,” said keeper Carly. Carly says Hawthorne is the more excitable of …

Long before Rainier the wolverine was getting his teeth cleaned and blood drawn, he was training with his animal care team to ensure a successful exam day. Northwest Trek keeper Wendi has been working with Rainier for months to get him comfortable with voluntarily receiving medical injections. This critical training means Rainier doesn’t have to be darted for sedation, making it easier for the wolverine as well as his animal care and veterinary teams. And now that he’s comfortable, Rainier won’t have to be sedated for preventive care, such as vaccinations. At Northwest Trek’s veterinary hospital, the 13-year-old wolverine is …

Birch, a beloved moose at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, died yesterday after a sudden and severe decline in his health. Dr. Allison Case, the wildlife park’s veterinarian, said the 8-month-old moose was showing signs of lethargy and severe gastro-intestinal disease Monday. His veterinary and animal care teams intervened immediately with medical treatment. When his condition didn’t improve yesterday, Birch was moved to the on-site animal hospital for more intensive care and diagnostic testing. Birch died under anesthesia as his intensive medical treatments were concluding, said Dr. Case. “Birch was adored by everyone who knew him and we are devastated to …

The word “enrichment” is said dozens of times a day around Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. As in, “we have the enrichment ready for the otters” or “Aspen the moose really seemed to enjoy her enrichment today” or “we need to create the beavers’ enrichment this afternoon.” Providing enriching experiences is a vital part of providing high-quality animal care at Northwest Trek- but what exactly is enrichment? “Enrichment items are things like food, smells or toys that enhance the health and well-being of the animals in our care,” said Haley, animal keeper and coordinator of the Behavioral Husbandry Committee at Northwest …