Northwest Trek

The trip to the Northwest Trek was memorable and showcased a lot of fascinating animals found in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, 'showcased' is why I wasn't as thrilled as had I seen these animals out in the wild. There's just nothing that compares to witnessing them out in nature where they aren't confined and encountering them is a matter of chance. However, the enclosures do serve as a means for the general public to observe and study and it gave me a chance to see the animals up close.


I think the most interesting thing I learned was about how owls' eyes go all the way to the back of their head. Because of this physical trait, they cannot move their eyes and thus must rotate their entire head, swiveling up to 270 degrees! Owls are my favorite of the class Aves so naturally I enjoyed finding out more facts about them. It was also interesting to examine the skulls at the end, particularly how the skull of the cougar had much larger ocular cavities than the bear skull and how this correlates to the function or amount of information being transmitted to and from the brain.


BLOG ASSIGNED QUESTIONS
1. On the tram I saw California Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Mountain Goats, American Bison, Swans, and Ducks. I don't remember the tram guides name but he looked like a Kyle so I'm going to call him Kyle.
2. n/a
3. a few per year
4. Deer such as the Blacktail and Elk have antlers, the Bighorn Sheep and Bison have horns.
5. n/a
6. Several including the Bighorn Sheep and Snowy Owl.
7. The Wolf, only around 50 in the entire state.
8. Tallest: Bison. Heaviest: Bison.
9. Le Skunk
10. n/a
11. Otters, Beavers, Wolverines, and Raccoons. Fishers prey on porcupines.
12. Lynx have much softer coats (cause of their being overhunted), and ears with long pointy tufts.
13. n/a
14. Theodore Roosevelt (I cheated and Googled)
15. Refer to above

Special thanks to Gwen and Shawn for this fun outing!