Even the mightiest birds under our care have routine health exams to ensure they remain in great shape. For the bald eagles, Sequoia, Sucia, Salish, and Cheveyo, this was preventative medicine in action. Having healthy birds allows Head Veterinarian Dr. Allison Case to focus on their continued wellness.  Keepers and the veterinary staff work seamlessly together to take each eagle to the veterinary clinic for exams. It’s a two-day process, and the team starts with Salish and Sucia. Sequoia and Cheveyo have their exams on the second day. Each bird traveled to the clinic fully awake, and after a careful, …

February is National Dental Month and gray wolf Canagan’s story of early intervention highlights the importance of maintaining those chompers.  Our Head Veterinarian, Dr. Allison Case, examined our three wolves for a routine checkup in November. Working with our sister zoo, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Dr. Case x-rayed our male wolf Canagan’s molar for a closer look. Canagan has a minor infection and is receiving antibiotics. His pearly whites and overall health for a 10-year-old wolf are stable. Dr. Case will follow up with a veterinary dentist on the next steps for Canagan.

Long before Rainier the wolverine was getting his teeth cleaned and blood drawn, he was training with his animal care team to ensure a successful exam day. Northwest Trek keeper Wendi has been working with Rainier for months to get him comfortable with voluntarily receiving medical injections. This critical training means Rainier doesn’t have to be darted for sedation, making it easier for the wolverine as well as his animal care and veterinary teams. And now that he’s comfortable, Rainier won’t have to be sedated for preventive care, such as vaccinations. At Northwest Trek’s veterinary hospital, the 13-year-old wolverine is …

For most of us, throwing up isn’t a good thing. Happening repeatedly, it’s a sign you should probably investigate – which was the case for Tahoma, a bobcat that arrived last year at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Otherwise in good health, he’d been regurgitating a bit more frequently than is usual in big cats, and so head veterinarian Dr. Allison Case – not seeing anything on her x-rays – had scheduled a gastroscopy for him with the park’s partner Summit Veterinary Referral Center to see if anything deeper was wrong. “So he’s been vomiting?” asked veterinary endoscopy specialist Dr. Kelly …

Keeper Dave Meadows stood 30 feet from a massive bull bison. Fully-grown, the bull weighed around 2,500 pounds – just a bit less than a Mini Cooper – and stood solidly on the rutted track in Northwest Trek’s Free-Roaming Area. His breath steamed against his thick, shaggy fur. Then he opened his mouth, tongue lolling, and gave a long, growling bellow. “Come on! Heeeeere, boy,” called Meadows, and rattled a bucket of feed. The bison bull stared for a long moment. Then he lowered his 200-pound head and ambled toward Meadows. Swiftly, the keeper stowed the feed bucket back in …

Even America’s most iconic symbol needs vaccinations to stay healthy. At Northwest Trek this spring, all four bald eagles received their annual shots against West Nile virus, keeping them – and the human population – safer from the disease. But the vaccination visit to Eagle Passage was also a great opportunity for the veterinary team to check up on Sucia, Salish, Sequoia and Cheveyo, getting weights, trimming beaks and nails and making sure everyone was doing well. The fun part for us? Veterinarian Dr. Allison Case decided to put on a chest Go-Pro while she worked, giving fans an eagle-eye …

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 …

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 …

Northwest Trek keeper/veterinary technician Deanna Edwards cradled the massive head of Ellis the moose in her arms, taking care that his breathing was regular as he lay on the grass, anesthetized, in a Free-Roaming Area field. He made a low-pitched thrumming noise as he slept, sounding a bit like a machine of some kind had invaded the quiet of the forest. But, nope, it was just the normal vocalization of a sedated moose – and this forest “house-call” was all in a day’s work for Ellis’ dedicated veterinary and keeper team. Vet on the ground To Ellis’ rear, Northwest Trek …

Giving a porcupine a physical exam can get a bit prickly – but our stellar veterinary team managed it easily! Head veterinarian Dr. Allison Case and veterinary technician Sara Dunleavy gave Thistle the porcupine his annual wellness exam recently, including ear, nose, eye and mouth checks, vital signs, palpation, blood tests and more, giving Thistle a clean bill of health. Here are the photos (click to expand).