For most of us, throwing up isn’t a good thing. Happening repeatedly, it’s a sign you should probably investigate – which was the case for Tahoma, a bobcat that arrived last year at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Otherwise in good health, he’d been regurgitating a bit more frequently than is usual in big cats, and so head veterinarian Dr. Allison Case – not seeing anything on her x-rays – had scheduled a gastroscopy for him with the park’s partner Summit Veterinary Referral Center to see if anything deeper was wrong. “So he’s been vomiting?” asked veterinary endoscopy specialist Dr. Kelly …

There’s a new cat in town! Northwest Trek is now home to Tahoma, a 4-year-old male bobcat. Tahoma was raised as a pet until recently. Bobcats are illegal to own as pets in Washington State, and his owner was forced to surrender him. Tahoma joins the wildlife park’s resident male bobcat, 8-year-old Tanner, who was also raised by humans before coming to Northwest Trek. Because of the cats’ comfortability around people, they both are not able to be released back into the wild. “Bobcats are wild animals, and wild animals don’t make good pets. It takes generations of careful breeding …

With under two weeks until Christmas, staff at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park are as busy as Santa’s elves creating unique holiday gifts for the animals. The weekend after Christmas, Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, is “Winter Wildland” at Northwest Trek. At the annual event, animals will be given their holiday-themed treats and gifts, known as “enrichments.” Enrichments are created to challenge animals’ brains and bodies, providing them with the environmental stimuli necessary for their well-being. “During Winter Wildland, our keepers create festive themed enrichments that are made from materials that our animals do not have the chance to interact with …