Animals

Need to get out in nature? Get up close to animals? And eat great food? We have the answer: a Northwest Trek day trip. Combine a morning or afternoon visit to the wildlife park with a half-day hike, picnic and local dinner outside, and you’ve got the makings of an awesome family day or romantic date. Keep reading to build your perfect itinerary. Step 1: Animals up close You can spend a morning or afternoon at Northwest Trek, getting up-close to grizzlies, bald eagles, cougar and more. There’s plenty of guaranteed parking. Wander the paved paths and learn all about …

Hundreds of endangered northern leopard frogs will leap back into the wild at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Grant County this month. The releases are made possible by a partnership of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Oregon Zoo, Washington State University (WSU), and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. WDFW collected northern leopard frog eggs earlier this spring, and after months of growing at the Oregon Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, the frogs are almost ready for release. WSU researchers will also fit a couple dozen of the frogs with small …

This Zookeeper Week, we shadowed Amanda, a zookeeper at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Amanda works with the black bears, grizzly bears, cougar, lynx, bobcats, foxes, and gray wolves.  We asked her about her experiences in zookeeping and what working with animals and wildlife means to her. Q: What is your favorite part of the job? A: I love providing enrichment to the animals and watching them express their natural behaviors. For example: I will put an antler up in a tree in Carly the cougar’s habitat to encourage her  to  climb and explore. Q: What is your favorite animal at …