Wolves, Bears, Buffalo and finally a Moose!

I’m very keen on animals, and love a chance to take them in on any trip.  For me, a perfect trip will involve some animals and an activity.  One particular animal that I was very keen to see was a Canadian moose.  I can’t quite say why, but after failing to hunt one down on our honeymoon in Alaska and Canada, we were very keen to find one for our recent trip to Canada for Easter. Fortunately for me, my ever diligent wife found Parc Omega, about an hour outside of Montreal, and sort of on the way to Mont Tremblant (warning, if visiting in Winter make sure the GPS is set to avoid ferries as ferries don’t operate on frozen lakes…).

I didn’t know what to expect, but I was very keen to see a Moose.  Parc Omega doesn’t really explain itself as an overall concept too well, so we weren’t sure what it would be like, but it turned out to be a great experience and well worth the visit!Parc Omega started as a private hunting reserve with imported wild boar and deer but has become a conservation reserve akin to a small safari park, spanning approximately 2,200 acres, with a driving route of about 17km which ranges through a number of themed habitats Prairie, Forest, Mountain, Lake, Boreal region. By and large the less dangerous animals are allowed to roam freely, but there are also wolves, bears and foxes in certain fenced off areas.  Some of the enclosures, such as the wolf enclosures could perhaps be a little small, not allowing roaming, but by and large the habitats seem very humane and I have to wonder if I would ever get the chance to see these magnificent creatures in the flesh in the true wild.

I also had a real “wow” moment when encountering the pack of gray wolves because a local photographer was feeding them chicken sausages (apparently authorised as part of a healthy diet on rare occasions) and had therefore gathered a pack of around twenty wolves in one place.  Don’t miss the boardwalk of the wolves and bears which is just by the exit of the park – and one that could easily be bypassed if you don’t realise what is there.  Whilst I have to question the ethicality of feeding the wolves for photos as he was doing and confess that the photos are certainly not truly “wild” (for an interesting debate on “wild photos” see this post, it was too great an opportunity for me to miss and I have some photos that I am very pleased with.

I have to admit I thought that feeding carrots to the Elk would be cheesy (and it was) but it was fun getting sup close with them.  And then there were three Moose throughout the Parc (safely behind a fence to prevent harm), satisfying an animal on my bucket list.  Yes, I would love to see all of these animals truly in the wild, and see them succeeding there as well, but Parc Omega seems to be the best alternative if you have limited vacation!