A Night with the Wolves by Chantal Bellehumeur

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.

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.

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. 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 lodging was in a secluded area of the woods, with only one cabin beside ours.

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

artisanal chocolates had been left for us on the dining table. There was also a postcard with a nice welcome message written on it. enclosures. Not only was the boardwalk build between sets of high metal fences, there were safety nets below.

The best part was the two double beds facing a large bay window where we could see some of the eleven grey wolves moving about in the fenced yard. The visible wolves from the pack were going about their business in a large open area, whereas the others remained hidden in the forest. We saw our wolves hanging around the open grounds and bay windows of the cabins. Jeff and I observed the canines which was mesmerizing. Some of them lazed on the ground while others followed each other. Another slowly made its way down a rocky hill to drink from a pool of water.

On the opposite side, we saw the back of four large wooden cottages. Different wolves lived in that enclosure, but we couldn’t see them.

We spotted a black bear near the edge of a frozen lake in front of a conifer forest. Another bear was seen close to cave openings. It playfully pawed at thick mud later on.

Jeff and I walked to the end of the short boardwalk which included an observation area overlooking the lake, and went up a long set of wooden stairs.

When we managed to turn our attention away from the wolves to view the rest of the cabin, we noticed it was perfectly decorated with wolf, bear, and deer themed items, down to the original antler toilet paper holder.

The big bathroom had travel-sized toiletries just like in hotels. The mirrors above the sink opened up to reveal screened windows with a great view of the wilderness.

On top of all this, the cabin included an outside living room with furniture facing another bay window for wolf observation. We looked at the wolves acting like playful dogs, and headed out with snacks.

Jeff and I walked up a hill into the woods and accessed a fenced boardwalk. We found ourselves at the perfect height to observe the animals, not worrying about accidentally falling into the gigantic

On our way back, I noticed a wounded wolf. Jeff and I were previously told the injury happened during mating. The dominant couple is the only one in the pack allowed to reproduce, so we knew the wolf who came to check on his isolated mate was the Alpha male.

Back in our cabin, Jeff and I were as hungry as wolves and ready to eat a full meal. While making pasta sauce, we got distracted by the pacing wolves outside. We poured ourselves glasses of chilled white wine, and took turns standing by the window to get a better look. The wolves seemed curious about the inside of our cabin. They rarely looked at us directly but rather past us, moving from the main window to the one from our outside living room. They’d often move on to the next cabin and soon return to ours. It was like they were trying to figure something out; perhaps a way in? Sometimes, they’d use their sharp claws to scratch the ground in front of the window. There was protective metal wiring at the bottom of the glass for additional safety, but I still wondered if the wolves could break in.

Wolves are intelligent. Although they don’t care about humans on a social level, I wouldn’t take my chances with one in the wild. We’re a source of food after all, even if not their first choice. They prefer eating large mammals like elk and deer, but will sometimes hunt smaller creatures such as beavers or rabbits.

I set the table while our noodles cooked alongside the simmering meat sauce. I forgot to pack seasoning so was happy to see the table's centerpiece, a statuette of a sitting moose, literally holding salt and pepper shakers.

Jeff and I continued looking at the wolves while eating our plain pasta topped with grated parmesan cheese.

The sky darkened as the sun set, making the shining stars appear. The wolves retreated to another fenced section and we couldn’t see them anymore, even with the outdoor light on. We were disappointed about their disappearance, but it didn't ruin our evening.

After helping me clean up and do the dishes, Jeff made a fire in the old-fashioned cast iron fireplace. We sat on the floor in front of the crackling flame, eating our chocolates and sipping coffee. When we looked outside, Jeff and I noticed the tall trees slightly illuminated by the outdoor light. It was spooky, yet visually pleasing. We eventually closed the outdoor light and pulled down one of the two dark blinds. It didn’t completely cut out lights from the distant cottages like we wanted, but shadows of the trees created interesting patterns on the thin blind.

Jeff and I went to bed at around ten, as usual. We both fell asleep fairly quickly, but got woken up close to eleven by the sound of wolves howling in the distance.

What an amazing thing to hear! It was almost like listening to a talented choir practicing a wordless chant. The wolves each seemed to have different musical notes to their howls which they started at the exact same time. An instant mixture of ghostlike “ooo’s”, whines, and grunts were heard.

After about two minutes of intense howling, all the wolves slowly lowered their vocal sounds. In an instant, everything went silent. Jeff and I witnessed something similar with a large group of Huskies while waiting to go on a dog sled ride this winter. Their loud barking stopped at the same time which impressed us, but it was nothing compared to a pack of wolves howling and simultaneously going quiet.

We heard the loud howls again at three in the morning and it was just as spectacular. Jeff unfortunately didn’t wake up for the six o'clock howls, nor the ones which followed only fifteen minutes later and again fifteen minutes after. I tried to gently stir him awake as I listened to the vocalisations, in awe each time, but to no avail. Because I had trouble falling back asleep, I got out of bed to pull up the blind and crawled back in the warm sheets. I sat upright against my pillows, looking at the sky as it got brighter with the rising sun. Some of the wolves started moving around between the distant trees.

I eventually lay back down and managed to get more shuteye.

By the time Jeff and I fully woke up, some of the wolves were moving around close to the window like the previous evening. We watched them from the comfort of the bed. We got up to start our day even though we could’ve used more sleep. Jeff and I occasionally went to the window and crouched down in front of the pacing canines.

One of the wolves looked directly at me with its yellow eyes. The thick glass between us was the only thing keeping it from potentially attacking me. I thought the canine was a beautiful animal, and part of me wished I could pet its thick fur as though it were a dog. But, I had seen its sharp teeth up close when it growled at another wolf, and wouldn’t want them digging into me.

After eating a light breakfast and drinking coffee, we continued closely observing the active wolves. When the canines were not at our window, dozens of birds gathered to peck at the ground. We could hear them happily chirping.

The wolves started howling again at around eight thirty, and once more about an hour later. Jeff was quick enough to record that session with his phone.

Birds continued chirping nonchalantly on top of the howling. It seemed like they were used to their noisy neighbours and lived by the motto “if you can’t beat them, join them.”

We faintly saw the howling wolves gathered among the trees; one of them was a late joiner. As soon as the howling session was over, each wolf started doing their own thing. We continued observing them.

Jeff and I decided to head to the boardwalk, hoping the wolves might howl while we were out but no such luck. The only sounds we heard for the majority of our walk were various birds chirping or pecking at trees.

The second pack of wolves was visible this time. Some of the canines were lazily lying under trees, but a few were walking around further away.

Although happy to finally see them, Jeff and I preferred observing the wolves near our cabin. We did so for a short while before continuing on our leisure walk.

As we made our way up the stairs, Jeff spotted a bear with two cubs by a conifer. We later saw another bear lying on the ground, closer to the edge of the enclosed forest. It walked towards a conifer and played with a low branch.

Walking down the stairs, we noticed a stream burbling down boulders which was soothing.

When we arrived closer to our cabin’s yard, Jeff and I sat on a bench to watch the wolves again while appreciating the peaceful sounds of nature and fresh air. We didn’t want to leave.

Our adventure continued after checking-out.

We rode on the vehicle trail of the park again, but also explored pedestrian sections we bypassed the previous day. We hiked around a frozen lake, plus pet fawns and does when children didn’t scare the poor animals away by chasing them with carrots or lettuce leaves. Jeff and I also visited the wolf observation area. Like the boardwalk, it consisted of protective wooden railings and safety nets.

As the animator tossed pieces of raw elk meat to the hungry grey canines below, he explained the wolves’ ranks which became evident by the way each one greedily ate, growled, or temporarily avoided food.

The Beta couple follows the Alphas in the chain of command, then comes the Gammas. They normally eat in that order. The weak Omega is always last and also responsible for taking care of the pups. It mainly eats scraps, if anything. We were informed the female Alpha, or Luna, was expecting a litter in May. When Jeff and I visited in the fall, there were two half grown pups in the pack. We couldn’t tell them apart from the fullgrown wolves anymore.

When the animator’s short presentation was over, Jeff inquired about the howling wolves. We had been under the assumption wolves only howled at night, but having witnessed otherwise we wanted to know more.

We were informed individual wolves howl when they’re happy, but when they do it as a pack it’s to announce their territory. Since there are five packs of wolves living in Omega Park, they often have howling wars, not realising neither pack can enter the other’s fenced territory.

Children attempted to get the wolves’ attention by giving their best howls, but none of them reacted. They could obviously tell the difference between their own kind and humans imitating them. Back home, Jeff and I repeatedly watched the video recording of the howling wolves. We heard the howls inside our heads as we went to sleep that night. Note: If you’re interested in listening to the recording of the howling wolves, click this link: https://youtu.be/qBkpJ-yGhZE

Chantal Bellehumeur is a Canadian author born in 1981. She has several published novels of various genres as well as numerous short stories, poems and articles featured in compilation books, magazine, plus a local newspaper.

For a complete list of publications, including free reads, visit the following website: https://author-chantal-bellehumeur.webnode.com/products-/