Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is a 723 acres (292.6 ha) wildlife park

Safari park

A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals...

 located near the town of Eatonville, Washington

Eatonville, Washington

Eatonville is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,758 at the 2010 census.-History:For centuries, Indian people roamed the rivers and streams of the Eatonville area. Indian Henry was one of those who, in 1889, guided the town's founder, Thomas C. Van Eaton, from...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Its primary feature is a tram tour which takes visitors through a 435 acres (176 ha) free-range area.

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...

 (AZA). The park and its companion zoo, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

The Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is a combined zoo and aquarium located in Tacoma, Washington, US, owned by Metro Parks Tacoma. Situated on in Tacoma's Point Defiance Park, the zoo and aquarium are home to over 9,000 specimens representing 367 animal species...

 in Tacoma

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...

, are both owned and operated by Metro Parks Tacoma.

History

In 1971, founders David and Connie Hellyer donated their vacation property near Eatonville to Metro Parks Tacoma to be set aside as a wildlife preserve. The park opened in 1975. Several bond issues have been passed over the years to help pay for improvements at the park.Facilities added over he years include the snowy owl exhibit (1982), great horned owl exhibit (1985), Cat Country exhibit (1987), barn owl exhibit (1988), the Cheney Discovery Center for children (1989), wolf exhibit (1992), grizzly and black bear exhibit (1993), picnic pavilion (1995), and the coyote/red fox exhibit (2003).

In 2000, voters passed a sales tax increase that provides a steady income for the Point Defiance Zoo, Trek and other Pierce County parks and supplies about half of the park's income. The park also opened the Hellyer Natural History Center, a laboratory/classroom that can be used by students, scientists, and others in the community.

In 2005, an additional 100 acres along the northern border of the park was purchased to help protect the tram route from residential development and provide additional space for research and conservation programs. Then in 2007, an additional 7 acres (2.8 ha) bridge of land was acquired, increasing the size of the park to 722.89 acres (292.5 ha).

Features

The park is divided into three areas: the tram tour area, the walking tour area, and the nature trails area.

Tram tour

The tram tour is the park's main feature. Visitors board a tram and are taken on a guided tour through the 435 acres (176 ha) free-range area. Animals that can be seen on the tram tour include bighorn sheep

Bighorn Sheep

The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...

, bison

Bison

Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

, mountain goat

Mountain goat

The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...

, black-tailed deer

Black-tailed Deer

Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupying coastal temperate rainforest on North America's Pacific coast are subspecies of the mule deer. They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all recent authorities maintain they are subspecies...

, moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, Roosevelt elk

Roosevelt elk

The Roosevelt elk , also known as Olympic elk, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America...

, white-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

, woodland caribou

Migratory Woodland Caribou

The migratory woodland caribou , also known as the forest caribou or woodland caribou , is a subspecies of the caribou...

, barren-ground caribou

Barren-ground Caribou

Barren-ground Caribou is a subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the Canadian territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and western Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou also is found in Alaska...

, and trumpeter swan

Trumpeter Swan

The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...

.

Walking Tour

The walking tour area is where visitors can see animals in enclosed spaces much like at a conventional zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

. The area has two "learning centers" featuring hands-on activities for children, a theater where visitors can view a video presentation on the history of the park, as well as services for visitors including a cafeteria and a gift shop. Bordering the tour pathway, one can see and enjoy a great variety of native plant life, some of which is labeled for easy identification.

Animal species that can be seen on the walking tour include American black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

, grizzly bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...

, bald eagle

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

, golden eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

, barn owl

Barn Owl

The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

, great horned owl

Great Horned Owl

The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...

, Northern spotted owl

Northern Spotted Owl

The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are larger than males...

, snowy owl

Snowy Owl

The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great...

, honey bee

Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...

s, gopher snake

Bullsnake

The bullsnake ' is a large non-venomous colubrid snake, widespread in the central part of the United States, northern Mexico, and southwestern Saskatchewan and Alberta Canada. It is currently considered a subspecies of the gopher snake '...

, coastal giant salamander

Coastal Giant Salamander

The Coastal Giant Salamander is a species of salamander in the Dicamptodontidae family . It is endemic to the United States and Canada. There are three closely related species to this taxon: D. ensatus , D. copei , and D...

, Western toad

Western toad

The Western toad more commonly known as is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches...

, rubber boa

Rubber Boa

The Rubber Boa is a snake in the family Boidae that is native to the Western United States.-Taxonomy:The Rubber Boa is a snake in the family Boidae and genus Charina. The name Charina is from the Greek for graceful or delightful, and the name bottae honors Dr. Paolo E. Botta, an Italian ship's...

, Western pond turtle

Western pond turtle

The western pond turtle , or Pacific pond turtle is a small to medium-sized turtle growing to approximately 20 cm in carapace length. It is limited to the west coast of the United States of America and Mexico, ranging from western Washington state to northern Baja California...

, bobcat

Bobcat

The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...

, cougar, lynx

Lynx

A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...

, gray wolves

Gray Wolf

The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

, red foxes

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

, coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

s, fisher

Fisher (animal)

The fisher is a medium-size mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten...

, badger

Badger

Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...

, skunk

Skunk

Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...

, opossum, wolverine

Wolverine

The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...

, beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

, otter

Otter

The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....

, and raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

.

Learning Centers

The walking tour has two learning centers: the Cheney Family Discovery Center and the Baker Research Cabin. Both feature animals and hands-on activities for children.

Cheney Family Discovery Center

Cheney Family Discovery Center is located close to the tram boarding station. At the Cheney Family Discovery Center visitors can touch several fur pelts of Pacific Northwest animals, participate in children's crafts, and view several animals.

Animal species that can be seen in Cheney Family Discovery Center include rubber boa

Rubber Boa

The Rubber Boa is a snake in the family Boidae that is native to the Western United States.-Taxonomy:The Rubber Boa is a snake in the family Boidae and genus Charina. The name Charina is from the Greek for graceful or delightful, and the name bottae honors Dr. Paolo E. Botta, an Italian ship's...

, Western toad

Western toad

The Western toad more commonly known as is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches...

, Pacific giant salamander

Pacific giant salamander

Pacific giant salamanders are a family of large salamanders.The family includes only a single genus, Dicamptodon. The genus was formerly thought to contain two species, Cope's Giant Salamander on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, and the Pacific giant salamander Pacific giant salamanders...

, honey bee

Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...

s, gopher snakes

Bullsnake

The bullsnake ' is a large non-venomous colubrid snake, widespread in the central part of the United States, northern Mexico, and southwestern Saskatchewan and Alberta Canada. It is currently considered a subspecies of the gopher snake '...

, and Western pond turtle

Western pond turtle

The western pond turtle , or Pacific pond turtle is a small to medium-sized turtle growing to approximately 20 cm in carapace length. It is limited to the west coast of the United States of America and Mexico, ranging from western Washington state to northern Baja California...

.

Baker Research Cabin

The Baker Research Cabin is located in between the gray wolves and the red foxes. In Baker Research Cabin visitors can see wolves and view coyotes and red foxes by remotely-controlled cameras.