Welcome, Nettle! After a week of public voting, fans chose this plant as the name for the new mountain goat kid, born May 29 at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.
The name was one of a slate of three names chosen by keepers after Northwest plants or locations, per park tradition. Nettle is a common plant found in many parts of the Free-Roaming Area, where all the park’s mountain goats live. Brinnon is a town along the eastern edge of the Olympic peninsula, while Briar is a general term for prickly, rambling shrubs.
Over 900 votes came in online during the week, and the race was close. Nettle topped the list at 40%, while Briar came in at 39% and Brinnon at 21%.
The female kid was born to mom Bailey, one of five goat kids that arrived at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in fall 2018 under a multi-agency project to relocate non-native mountain goats from Washington’s Olympic Mountains to the North Cascades where their populations were depleted. Northwest Trek partnered with Woodland Park Zoo and Oregon Zoo to provide permanent homes to goat kids without known mothers.
The kid is still in good health, say keepers, following her mom and exploring the Free-Roaming Area with the rest of the herd.
Guests can try to spot Nettle and Bailey on a Wild Drive or Keeper Adventure Tour. The Wild Drive guided experience allows families and households to tour the stunning meadows and forests of the park’s Free-Roaming Area in a small caravan of cars, led in front and behind by park staff for everyone’s safety. The Keeper Adventure Tour allows visitors to board a Jeep and go off-road in that same Free-Roaming Area, allowing them to see any animals hidden in the forest.
