As any dog-owner knows, canine animals explore with their mouths. They lick. They chew things they shouldn’t. And sometimes, they eat things they shouldn’t. But it was still a surprise when Northwest Trek veterinary staff discovered that Darci the gray wolf had accidentally swallowed a rock. What was amazing was how it came out – and how Darci helped them every step of the way. X-rays and Crates “Hi, Darci, you’re okay. There’s a good girl,” called keeper Haley Withers, peeking through the window of a large metal crate in the back of a van. A black nose appeared at …

Eatonville, Wash.—There is little that will get in the way of a veterinarian taking care of an animal in need. Heavy rain, cold temperatures and mud certainly did not stop Northwest Trek’s head veterinarian Dr. Allison Case from paying Nancy the moose a special visit. Keepers are constantly monitoring the animals’ behavior and observed Nancy having difficultly urinating. One call to Dr. Case and she was on her way out to the 435-acre Free-Roaming Area to check on Nancy. Keepers set up a canopy to keep Nancy dry and comfortable. A bed for Nancy was made out of hay bales …

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 …

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park’s three gray wolves were given a clean bill of health at their triennial exams last week.   “Tala weighs 39.1 kilograms or about 86 pounds,” said head veterinarian, Dr. Allison Case.   On average, gray wolves weigh 75 to 110 pounds. That meant 7-year-old Tala, a gray wolf with a white coat, was already on the right track to a healthy doctor’s appointment.   Dr. Case made sure Tala’s exam was as comfortable as possible. She put down a warm blanket, gave her eye drops and sprayed her tongue with water.   “It’s all about the …

Taking a one-year-old for his physical check-up is not usually that difficult – unless, of course, he happens to be a 450-pound grizzly cub. Last week, Northwest Trek veterinarian Dr. Allison Case had not one but two enormous grizzlies to examine – so naturally enough, she made a house call. On Thursday morning it was Hawthorne’s turn. Huckleberry had had his check-up on Wednesday, and all went well. Now, he was out in the bears’ forested habitat, intently chewing an elk hide treat, while Hawthorne lay peacefully on a cot bed in their sleeping area, anesthetized for the exam. “We’re …

With the grace of a ballerina and the timing of an opera diva, Carly the cougar pads into her den. Behind the scenes at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, the den has a mesh wall with a waist-high perch on one side, where keeper Haley Withers is waiting patiently outside with some meatballs. “Come on, girl,” she calls softly. Carly pauses. Looks the scene over. Then in one swift movement she’s up on the perch, positioning her tail near a small horizontal opening. It’s cougar-training time. Trust me – just hold still “To train any animal, you need their trust,” says …

For Veterinary Technician Week 2019, we’re not just celebrating our wonderful vet techs – we’re introducing them! Vet techs assist veterinarians in every aspect of animal health care and they care deeply about our animals, often in very practical ways. We couldn’t care for our animals without them. Meet Tracy Cramer, our new full-time clinical veterinary technician at Northwest Trek. Why did you become a veterinary technician? I’ve always loved animals. I grew up with a lot of pets, everything from tarantulas to horses. We lived in rural Michigan, with woods behind our house. My friends and I would spend …

Examining three mountain goat kids in a row? That’s all in a day’s work for a wildlife park that’s looking after 10 goat kids until they go to their new homes. “All right,” said Dr. Allison Case, Northwest Trek veterinarian, checking off her notes. “We’ve done weight, we’ve done blood samples, fecal samples, dewormer, fly spray, vaccinations, hoof trim, antibiotic. We just have the rest of the physical and we’re done.” The goat kid with the yellow ear tag sleeping peacefully under anesthetic was just the first of three to have exams that day in the Northwest Trek veterinary clinic, …

It couldn’t fly, but it had all the tiny, angular cuteness you could possibly want. In a small meshed container in the Northwest Trek veterinary clinic, a little brown bat hung in folds of soft pink cloth, sleepily chomping a mealworm and getting ready to be an ambassador – a new lease on life, thanks to Northwest Trek staff. “One of our keepers found him on the floor of the exit breezeway,” explained keeper Wendi Mello, gently lifting the sleepy bat out of its temporary house. “It was injured and couldn’t fly, but we knew we could help.” Keepers brought …

For Bailey and Fairchild, the morning started like any other. Northwest Trek keeper Dave Meadows drove up, unloaded buckets of food from the truck and divided it into piles on the road in the Free-Roaming Area. The two mountain goat kids, now just over one year old, ambled up from the lakeside with Klahhane, Elwha and Rocky, and began munching. But today was going to be very different for the two female goats, who came to the wildlife park last summer as part of a multiagency effort translocating mountain goats to the Cascades (where they are native) from the Olympic …