Nature Up Close!

    Leaving Quebec City, we travelled east to Tadoussac, a town at the junction of the St. Lawrence River and  Saguenay Fjord. It is a good location for whale watching. We were going past this Town to stay at a campground which is part of a farm.

Our blue van and trailer on the ferry crossing the waters of the Saguenay Fjord.

    We were staying at the Ferme 5 etoiles (5 Star Farm), a combination refuge of wildlife and domestic animals. After setting up camp, we went off down the road to the Domaine de l'ours noir. Here we gathered with other people and were shown an educational video concerning black bears. Then we piled into an old yellow school bus and travelled down some dirt road into a forest. We stopped in a clearing and we were told to be as silent as possible. We walked down a path for a few minutes until we reached our observation stand. It was more like a wooden stadium with a cover over it. The stand was situated so that we could see across a valley to a feeding area. That is where we would see the black bears who would come to eat. If they came. The likelihood of us seeing a bear was high (apparently 95%) but sometimes they did not come. So we waited... and waited... and waited. Being quiet for so long was very difficult for some especially the younger children who giggled and wanted to move. All in all they were pretty good. It was nice just to sit in the quiet peaceful forest but where were the bears? The guide was about to give up and apologize for a "no show" when finally after an hour of waiting, a single black bear showed up.

Faux Black bears on the pole at the entrance of the 

office of Domaine de l'ours noir

The short walk from the bus farther into

the forest.

We arrive to the covered observation stand. We look

across the valley to a feeding station. We quietly wait

and wait and wait some more.

This is what we are looking at, waiting for a black 

bear to appear. 

Here he comes, finally!

Eating at the trough.

We observed him eating for awhile and then he moved off.

We were happy customers though. We got to see a bear in the wild.

Although, I would say that this was not really observing them in

their natural habitat with the feeding trough set up.

    Since 2006, the Ferme 5 etioles has played a role as a refuge for wild animals found injured or orphaned. They have a variety of animals that can be observed while living in a safe environment. During the morning feeding, we got to assist and learned about the animals. The guide was French speaking but after her initial talk she would stop and speak English for us. Here are some of the animals we met:

The Rooster

Protecting the others

Close up of a turkey

Chickens galore!

So many varieties

The farm guide explained about the animals,

how they came to the farm and how they are fed.

Bev helping to feed the deer

The "big guy" who insisted on being fed first.

A female deer

"Stay away everyone, I am eating"

Many feed from the trough.

The best part of the day --- meal time!

Al with the farm dog

Rico and Rosie Raccoon waiting to eat. "What's for lunch?"

Crab apples! Yum!

Zelda the Lynx is waiting for her daily chicken.

Apparently she will only eat chicken and she is fed by tossing

 a freshly killed chicken, feathers and all, into her compound.

Zelda dragging off her meal.

She plucks the chicken before eating.

This rabbit is relaxing and showing off his "lucky feet".

Arctic Wolves: Luna and Nalu waiting for a block of meat mixture.

Mowgli, the porcupine. I did not realize the

size of their teeth they have.

Jacob, the grey wolf.

We saw a moose up close and not even on a highway.

An Emu with its long neck and big eyes.

    Although we only stayed over one night, we saw many animals that we would not have seen in our daily lives. A great place to explore, discover and observe the wild and domesticated animals. This would be a great place to take the family for a short vacation.