Some VIP tiny animals are being closely monitored and cared for by Northwest Trek Wildlife Park zookeepers Chelsea and Kameron. Their charges started out looking like a gooey cluster of chia seeds when they arrived from Grant County earlier this spring. Soon, those tiny black “seeds” sprouted pointy dorsal fin tails, and their little bodies morphed into plump ovals with small eyes. They were hungry, mobile, and thriving in large black aquatic tanks carefully managed by Chelsea and Kameron. If everything goes smoothly, these little ones will grow into northern leopard frogs and be released back to Grant County later …

State wildlife officials moved nearly 200 endangered northern leopard frog tadpoles raised at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in Eatonville to their new home at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Washington in late May. The tadpoles will continue growing in secured rearing pens until they are mature enough to hop into the wild alongside 200 additional mature frogs later this summer. “Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is proud to work with our public and private partners on the northern leopard frog project to restore the wild population,” said Curator Marc Heinzman. “It’s incredible to watch them grow from egg masses …

Nearly 400 endangered northern leopard frogs will leap back into the wild soon, thanks to a recovery effort at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials delivered the frog eggs to the Eatonville wildlife park in April. “They’ve already grown from egg masses to tadpoles in a short time,” said Northwest Trek Zoological Curator Marc Heinzman. “At this rate, the frogs should be ready to hop back into the wild this summer.” Once abundant throughout North America, northern leopard frogs are rapidly disappearing from their native ranges in Washington, Oregon, and western Canada. The species has been …