A Night with the Wolves by Chantal Bellehumeur
Imagine waking up and seeing a wolf looking through your window after hearing a pack howling in the distance throughout the night. Under normal circumstances, I’d be scared. However, this scenario was actually anticipated and welcomed. My husband Jeff and I rented a special cabin within a wilderness park in Montebello this past April. It was pricier than what we normally book for our getaways, but worth it. The park animals are used to the year-round flow of visitors, but none of them are domesticated. Although curious, they’re also cautious and run away when frightened. After leaving the habitats of the docile animals, we slowly rode past the enclosures of black wolves, bison, arctic foxes, caribous, and musc oxen. We stopped at the sugar shack and treated ourselves to maple taffy on snow, then took a path in the woods which led us to a mini farm. We saw bulls, goats, mules, and a donkey. I bonded with a doe prior to getting back on the vehicle trail. We then briefly observed arctic wolves, coyotes, mountain goats, and bears within their enclosures, and fed more wandering animals. At the exit, we headed to the accommodations section.
Our stay included entry to Omega Park; fenced grounds consisting of forests, meadows, rocky hills, and lakes. It’s the chosen home of numerous Canada geese and other birds. Several types of mammals inhabit the conservation land too, but aren’t free to come and go as they please.
Our lodging was in a secluded area of the woods, with only one cabin beside ours.
We rolled on the vehicle trail, feeding carrots to elks and deer from our windows. Boars walked around, sometimes followed by piglets. We found them as adorable as the fawns and elk cows on site.
When we entered our log cabin, Jeff and I were impressed since it was more luxurious than expected. The spacious main room had a high ceiling, fully equipped kitchenette, and dining area with a giant chandelier made from shed antlers. A box of - 42 -
