Did you know skunks are seen often in Washington state? If you haven’t spotted one yet, you’ll soon be able to see one at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park! Coming to us from Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Sundew is a male striped skunk. He’s a year old and adjusting well to his new home. Already showing us his playful personality, Sundew loves strawberries and carrots. But he’s been known to leave his veggies for last. After a short-term quarantine, our veterinary staff brought Sundew into the health clinic for his wellness exam. During his exam, Sundew had routine blood work done to …

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 …

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 …

This Zookeeper Week, we shadowed Becky, a zookeeper at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Becky works with all of the animals in the Cheney Discovery Center, Forest & Wetlands area, and all of the birds in the wildlife park, but is the primary trainer for raccoons McKenna and McChord, badgers Lavender and Poppy, bald eagles Cheveyo and Sequoia, and Tolmie the porcupine. 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 working with species that are native to the Pacific …

This Black History Month, we sat down with Sunni, a zookeeper at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park who helps make the park the incredibly special place it is. 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 working with and creating a relationship with the animals. I also enjoy creating fun and special moments with children on the Keeper Adventure Tours I lead. It’s wonderful watching them discover something new and cool and seeing their reaction to the animals. Q: …

“I love working here. It’s a unique place, and I love the challenges that come with it.” – Dave, assistant curator and Free-Roaming Area keeper, Northwest Trek 8am Dave swings into the keeper truck with the ease of someone who’s been doing it for 25 years. As he pulls slowly through the gate into the Free-Roaming Area, he’s already on duty. Alert eyes scan the road ahead and forest to either side. It’s something he’ll be doing constantly over the next two hours, whether he’s driving around the 435-acre habitat, pulling out feed buckets or taking radio calls from fellow …

“People think that being a zookeeper is just playing with animals all day long. Actually, it’s caring for them and making their lives meaningful. And getting visitors to connect with them. That’s amazing to do.” – Wendi, Forest+Wetlands keeper, Northwest Trek 7:30am Wendi arrives at Northwest Trek for the early shift. On this mid-summer morning it’s a fine time to be working outside in a forest, but in winter it’s dark, cold and frequently icy. But for Wendi, that’s all part of the job. As one of the keepers in the Forest/Wetlands habitat, she cares for otters, beavers, badgers, wolverines, …

“The reason I love it here is because we care for native wildlife. If you go hiking in the Northwest, you’ll never see a lion or zebra, but you might see elk or black bear. Teaching people how to live conflict-free with wildlife – that’s what’s so cool about this job.” – Haley, carnivore keeper, Northwest Trek 10:30am Haley’s hot and sweaty. She’s been whacking weeds in the wolf habitat for two and a half hours, and now it’s time to clean out grizzly bear dens. “We wear many hats,” she says with a small smile, of herself, fellow keeper …

EATONVILLE, Wash.– Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is reopening its Keeper Adventure Tours on Friday, Aug. 14, with timed online tickets and enhanced safety protocols designed to help guests connect up close with wildlife while staying safe and healthy. Timed online tickets will go on sale Aug. 10. The 90-minute Keeper Adventure Tours take guests aboard an open-air Jeep on paved roads rarely traveled, on gravel tracks and occasionally off-road to see bison, moose, mountain goats, elk, deer, swans and more in the park’s 435-acre Free-Roaming Area. If guests book now, they can see Northwest Trek’s baby animals and experience the …