Cheney Center
Come into the cozy warmth of the Cheney Discovery Center – right by the tram tour station – and discover a tiny new world. Reptiles like the gopher snake, amphibians like the Western toad, and the banana slug, king of slimy invertebrates.
Western toad
Anaxyrus boreas
WHAT: Large with oval-shaped glands behind their eyes. Gray to green with a light stripe down the back. Their “warts” are tinged with red and surrounded by black.
WHERE: Ponds and small lakes or other water with abundant plant life.
SIZE: Length: up to 5 inches.
EATS: Insects, small invertebrates.
BABIES: Breeding from April-May. Eggs are laid in long gelatinous strings into shallow water. Tadpoles emerge after a few days; metamorphism takes around 2 months.
STATUS: Species of Concern.
FUN FACTS: When frightened, the Western toad can make itself bigger by inflating air sacs inside its body. This allows it to wedge itself tightly into rock walls or burrows, making it difficult for a predator to extract it.
When mating, the male uses its clasping thumb to stimulate the female to extrude 4,000-8,000 eggs in long gelatinous strings, which he fertilizes externally.
Gopher snake
Pituophis catenifer catenifer
WHAT: The Pacific gopher snake is beige to light brown, with brown to black blotches covering its body and a dark band across its head.
WHERE: Mountains to lowlands, dry deserts to open conifer forests across the U.S.
SIZE: 2.5-7 ft.
EATS: Small to medium rodents, birds, chicks, eggs and other reptiles.
BABIES: Breeding from March-May results in 2-22 eggs laid in August. Hatchlings appear in late fall after a 50-85 day incubation.
STATUS: General: Common. Washington: State monitored.
FUN FACTS: The gopher snake is a good tree climber that actively searches for prey in burrows, dens and rocks.
When alarmed, it coils into an S-shape, hisses loudly and vibrates its tail rapidly on the ground to mimic a rattlesnake.
Banana slug
Ariolimax columbianus
WHAT: Bright yellow, or sometimes green, brown, spotted or white, the Pacific banana slug is the second-largest land slug in the world.
WHERE: Moist forest floors along the Pacific coast.
SIZE: Length 9.8 in.; weight 4.1 oz.
EATS: Leaves, animal droppings and dead plants.
BABIES: Breeding year-round. Slugs are hermaphrodites (can change sex), and after exchanging sperm with a mate they lay up to 75 translucent eggs (hiding them in logs or leaves). Then they abandon the clutch.
STATUS: Common.
FUN FACTS: Banana slugs are decomposers: they eat dead organic matter and recycle it into soil humus.
They especially love eating mushrooms, and spread the spores as they excrete.
They’re slow movers. Banana slugs travel at 6 ½ inches per minute – that’s .006 miles per hour.
Rough-skinned newt
Taricha granulosa
WHAT: A stocky brown salamander with a bright orange to yellow underside, rounded snouts and rough skin.
WHERE: Moist forests, lakes, ponds and wetlands throughout the west coast of the U.S. and British Columbia.
SIZE: 4-7 inches
EATS: Worms, insects and other invertebrates.
BABIES: Breeding at different times depending on location, newts lay single eggs hidden in vegetation. They hatch in 5-10 weeks, and larvae metamorphose when around 1-3 inches.
STATUS: Secure.
FUN FACTS: When threatened, rough-skinned newts arch their heads toward their tails, which reveals their bright orange underside to warn predators that they are toxic.
Newts produce toxin inside their skin, rather than secreting it, so it is most dangerous when eaten. They can be safely handled but wash hands thoroughly afterwards.
Not many vertebrates can survive eating a rough-skinned newt – but the common garter snake is one that can, since the snakes can tell whether the newt’s toxin level is too high to feed on.
Cheney Stories
What would you ask Santa for these holidays if you were a moose? Or a bald eagle? Of course we can’t know what our animals are thinking, and we do give them plenty of holiday enrichment treats at Winter Wildland. But we can definitely make some fun guesses based on what they enjoy doing or eating! Here’s a Northwest Trek wish-list for Santa from some of our animals. Let’s hope the guy in the red suit comes through… Moose Dear Santa, The holidays are here, and apparently you give gifts on request. Well, here is my request: Peace and quiet. …
NOTE: Sadly, our rubber boa passed away soon after this story was published. She had received the best of care and will be missed. Rubber boas usually don’t get a lot of attention. In the wild, this Western American snake stays out of the spotlight, active at night and burrowing during the day. Their smooth, light brown skin blends perfectly with the forest floor. But at Northwest Trek this month, the rubber boa in the Cheney Discovery Center was the center of some extraordinary care – and affection – from veterinary staff and keepers alike. “All right, girl,” murmured keeper …
It’s a cool, wet spring morning at Northwest Trek, and keeper Wendi Mello 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 Mello 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 Mello. One of the Wetlands keepers, she’s the lead for collecting banana slugs for the ever-popular Tank o’ Slugs at the …
