The black bears at Northwest Trek have gone down for their winter naps, also known as torpor. During torpor, a bear’s body temperature, respiratory rate and metabolic rates all decrease to conserve energy. The bears can maintain this low energy sleeping state for days, weeks or even months without having much activity outside of their den, including eating and going to the bathroom.  Northwest Trek’s black bears, Benton and Fern, typically go into torpor from November until February or March. “Benton and Fern do have periods of activity during the winter months, where they will eat, go to the …

Once upon a time there were two wolf species: red wolves and gray wolves. Neither of them were “big and bad,” but they were often feared by humans. Over time, more and more were hunted. By 1940 gray wolves were decimated in the American wild and by the 1970s, so were red wolves. It was time for the story’s hero to step in. “Humans have a long history of blaming predators for problems, like wolves and grizzly bears,” says Marc Heinzman, zoological curator at Northwest Trek. “But scientific data shows that’s just not true in all cases.” While it’s true …

Fat Bear Week, October 5-October 11, is a celebration of success and survival, where brown bears in the Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska are matched against each other in a “march madness” style online voting competition to see who is crowned the Fat Bear Week Champion of 2022. No, it’s not fat shaming- it’s highlighting the resilience and adaptability of brown bears. Fat Bear Tuesday (Oct. 11) is when the winner is announced. While the grizzly bears at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park aren’t in the competition, we think they’re worth celebrating too. Huckleberry and Hawthorne, both 4 years …

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 …

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is now home to three Alaskan moose calves after they were orphaned in the wild earlier this summer. Keepers have named the almost 3-month-old calves Atlas, Luna, and Callisto (Cuh-list-o) after the moons of several planets. “We’re excited to welcome another generation of moose to Northwest Trek and provide a second chance and great home for these orphaned moose,” said zoological curator Marc Heinzman. “Once these calves grow into adulthood, they will be a thrilling sight for our guests.” Luna, an orphaned female calf, was rescued after wandering alone around the small town of Ninilchik, Alaska …

Update, August 18th: Northwest Trek Wildlife Park released 124 endangered Northern leopard frogs earlier this week at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Grant County. Keepers at Northwest Trek raised the frogs for 3 months from eggs through tadpole stage to froglets. This is a multi-agency partnership to help save this species that faces challenges like habitat loss, disease, non-native species, and climate change. By giving the frogs a head start and raising them free of predators, they are given a better chance of survival in the wild with the hope of establishing a new population of northern leopard frogs …

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 …

This Zookeeper Week, we shadowed Jordan, a zookeeper at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Jordan works with all the animals in the 435-acre Free-Roaming Area, including nearly 90 bison, mountain goats, elk, swans, caribou, and bighorn sheep and dozens of black-tailed deer.  We asked him about his experiences in zookeeping and what working with animals and wildlife means to him. Q: What is your favorite part of the job? A: I love how different every day can be. If an animal is behaving abnormally or needs a medical procedure, it can change my whole routine. I also enjoy the solitude and …

He enjoys climbing and watching the trees sway in the wind and the birds fly by, making the name ‘Forest’ a perfect fit for Northwest Trek’s newest animal, an American marten. Martens are omnivores, members of the weasel family and live in forests in Washington, Alaska, northern New England, the Great Lakes region, Canada, and the Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges. Staff at Northwest Trek are honored to give Forest a home, after he was rescued and survived a challenging past. Visitors will notice that Forest’s tail is missing, as result of an incident before he was rescued. When Forest was first rescued, he …

This Zookeeper Week, we shadowed Hannah and Armando, two zookeepers at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Hannah and Armando are raising 260 endangered Northern leopard frogs from egg to froglet stage, until they can be released back into the Washington wild to boost the native population. Due to habitat loss, disease, pollution, climate change and invasive predators like bullfrogs, Northern leopard frogs are close to extinct in Washington and Oregon. Now, there’s just one place in Washington where they’re found: the Potholes Reservoir in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area. Later this summer, the frogs will leave Northwest Trek and be released …