At Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, they care for more than 100 animals native to the Pacific Northwest. The facility spans 725 acres, allowing visitors to observe wildlife in various ways. Part of maintaining the park is providing enrichment activities for the animals. Enrichment is a modification of an animal’s environment that provides positive stimulation. The park recently added a pile of fresh mulch for the wolves, who quickly turned it into a playground.
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The wildlife park is located in Eatonville, Washington. Guests can get nose-to-nose with the resident wolves in the tunnel inside the E.H. Baker Cabin. The three gray wolves that you can see playing in the mulch are Canagan, Tala, and Darci. They are all siblings born on April 22, 2013, and have been together at Northwest Trek since late 2013.
Wolves love to play, and the mulch makes a perfect play area for them. They will alternate between digging, rolling around in it, and wrestling one another. They may be seen pouncing and playing like pups in the soft area. The curious wolves like to explore new things, and they were quick to discover the new enrichment area.
Gray wolves have protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). There is an exception for the Northern Rocky Mountain population. The wolves are threatened in Minnesota and endangered in all other areas. Conservation efforts have helped wolves return from the brink of extinction, but current population numbers are still too low to be sustainable.
Maintaining existing populations in the wild and preserves is an integral part of the recovery of the species. In captivity, wolves need enrichment activities such as the mulch to maintain healthy and happy populations.
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