Crunchy snack time with Hudson the beaver! 🦫🥕
Nothing beats a fresh veggie snack. Those powerful teeth are always growing, so every crunch counts. Listen close… that’s the sound of a beaver doing what it does best. 💚
Huckleberry understood the assignment: splash first, ask questions later. The rescued grizzly is making the most of his pool time! 🐻
A simple layer of fresh pine shavings brings out natural behaviors like scent-marking and a whole lot of joy for black bears Benton and Fern.
Happy National Siblings Day 🐻💚
Huckleberry and Hawthorne may not be brothers by blood, but you’d never know it watching them. Both orphaned and rescued, these grizzlies have grown up side by side, tumbling, wrestling, and turning every day into playtime together.
📹: Keeper Haley
Just a grizzly, minding his own business… living his best life in a weeble. 🐻😌
Hudson + his carrot = a perfect International Beaver Day moment! 🦫🥕
Beaver teeth never stop growing, which means Hudson is always looking for something to chew. Gnawing on crunchy treats like carrots helps keep those impressive incisors worn down and healthy.
Stunning views that stop you in your tracks. From the Discovery Tram Tour Station, our guests are treated to breathtaking sights of Mount Rainier rising above the landscape. 🚞
River otters: built for zoomies 💦
With streamlined bodies, webbed feet, and powerful tails, these swimmers can glide through the water at speeds up to 7 mph. Around here, that speed usually turns into splashes, spins, and a whole lot of play.
Dive in with us this World Water Frog Day as we search for amphibian egg masses at Northwest Trek. 🐸
Each survey helps us track the health of local amphibian populations, from northwestern salamanders to Pacific treefrogs, northern red-legged frogs, and long-toed salamanders.
Rescued, resilient, and now thriving, male cougar Sullivan is celebrating his one-year anniversary at Northwest Trek with a carcass feast. This kind of enrichment taps into natural behaviors like chewing, tearing, and problem-solving, keeping Sullivan both physically and mentally engaged. 🍖
Our prickly pal is celebrating the season the best way, by snacking on fresh blooms like it’s a five-star garden buffet. 🌼 Porcupines are herbivores, and in the wild they’ll munch on everything from bark and leaves to buds and blossoms. So, Thistle is basically a floral foodie. 🌸
📹: Keeper Miranda
Benton is serving distinguished gentleman energy today ☀️ With the sun shining and spring in the air, this black bear is taking it all in, calm, confident, and completely unbothered. From slow strolls to lounging in his habitat, Benton knows how to make the most of a beautiful day.
In honor of World Bear Day, our black bear Benton is putting his foraging skills to the test with a little apple bobbing enrichment. It’s more than just cute (though… very cute). Activities like this encourage natural behaviors like problem-solving and food searching. 🍎
Parks Tacoma’s 2026 bond proposal would bring significant new investments to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park's beaver habitat.
The proposed bond would fund more than 100 projects, without increasing the current park tax rate. Learn more about the April 28 bond at parkstacoma.gov/april-2026-election
Oakley and Blakely are making a splash in their newly refreshed digs! River otters are built for life on the move, with streamlined bodies, webbed feet, and boundless energy, so giving them a space to swim, dive, and play is key to keeping them thriving. 💕
Spring has arrived and Huckleberry and Hawthorne are coming out of torpor! After a long winter of slow time, our rescued grizzly bears are easing back into the season the best way they know how, by stretching out and enjoying some well-earned lounging time. Not a bad way to wake up, if you ask us.
It may be hard to imagine now, but a few small seedlings growing in our nursery could one day become towering giants. Recently donated by a Nisqually Tribe elder, the young sequoia trees are being carefully nurtured before they are planted. 🌱
Our male caribou is already growing in a fresh set of antlers! Caribou are the only deer species where both males and females grow antlers. While his are coming in strong this season, females keep theirs through the winter, helping them compete for food in the wild, when it matters most.
Nuka the lynx is rolling in mountain goat fur, an enrichment that taps into natural scent-marking behaviors. In the wild, lynx rely heavily on scent to communicate, explore their surroundings, and even track prey. New smells = new information!
📹: Keeper Joelle
Big stretch, big yawn! 😴 Rainier the wolverine is starting his day in the coziest way possible. Wolverines may look fluffy, but they’re tough, powerful animals. #WorldWolverineDay
📹: Keeper Wendi
Jack barks orders, Radar supervises, Kamiah keeps the peace, and Whittaker waits for treats. Our rescued fox siblings are now seniors with a freshly updated, cozy habitat! 🦊
Monday really said, “Why pick one?” ❄️☔️☀️
At Northwest Trek, we got a little bit of everything today: hail, rain, sunshine, and even snow.
📹: Keeper Stephanie
Happy National Napping Day from a few of our napping experts! 💤
The sweetest bobcat snuggle we ever did see! 🥰
Rescued bobcats, Tanner and Tahoma, are showing that even wild cats have a soft side. Bobcats may be known for their stealth and independence, but moments like this remind us they also share strong bonds. 🐾
📸: Keeper Carly
Bonus birds are popping up around the park! 🐦✨
Seasonal ponds and wetlands at Northwest Trek are attracting some feathered visitors like hooded mergansers, ducks, and geese. These “bonus birds” stop by to rest, forage, and take advantage of the rich habitat found throughout the park.
Keepers Stephanie and Deanna are on the annual search for elk antler sheds! 🦌 In this video, Stephanie finds a massive set weighing 25.5 pounds and carefully carries it back to be weighed and stored for future educational and enrichment purposes.
When you see a bull bison up close, it’s hard not to do a double-take! 😲 Fun fact: A mature bull American bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, which is about the same as a small car! 🚗🦬
Dumpling is toadally digging those snacks! 🐸
📹: Keeper Miranda
Hudson said, “Oh? You wood look at that.” 🪵
Our resident beaver, Hudson, found the perfect stick and wasted no time adding it to his den. When you’re a master builder, every branch is a big deal!
