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Caribou camp
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Pioneer home
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Story & photos by James Stoness
The Zoo Sauvage of St. Felicien is located in a beautiful forest and field setting, about 350 kms north of Trois Rivieres, Quebec, near the popular Lake St. Jean tourist region. It provides a perfect combination of animals and wilderness, making it an entertaining adventure for adults and kids alike.
The zoo is laid out into six zones, each with walking trails, which you can explore in any order. One additional zone has special access.
In the Asian sector, there’s striped Amur tigers, possibly waiting for their lunch. They are like oversized kittens, rolling on their backs, scratching, and full of fun. A larger tiger sits and watches from a higher perch. Climb the stairs for a better view of these beautiful cats from a country far above the North Pole.
Over in the Mountain section, the zoo brings together a wide variety of animals with photo opportunities around every boulder. The big grizzly pads across the rocks, a bighorn sheep picks its way down the hill, the cougar, lynx and coyotes, move easily through their environment.
The Arctic region has a river where the diving polar bears make are quite a hit. If you watch them through the thick glass from the inside viewing area as they swim, you might be startled when you see a huge nose and big teeth inches away.
Stroll over to the Mongolian section to see some animals that are different, such as the Siberian ibex with the long lumpy horns curving gracefully above their backs, and a long goatee under their chins. Would you like to ride the sad looking double humped camel? With two humps he should be good for the long haul in dry areas, with his shaggy coat keeping him warm.
The mini farm area is a combination petting zoo and exercise area. If you leave this section until the last, you can rest while the children have fun in the water fight section, where there are arches that spray water as they run through, and water cannon sprinklers they can aim at each other. Bathing suits definitely needed!
Now it’s time for the Nature Trail park. In this park you don’t walk. You are treated to a ride on a train of caged cars, which carries the guests through a locked gate into the section of the park where the animals run free in their natural habitat. Don’t run over a real herd of buffalo, where some of them are sleeping on the road. Do watch for the wolves - they are quite beautiful animals. If you are lucky a huge moose might be grazing by the ducks in the lake, submerging his huge head to feed on hidden weeds. The ride gets better as you drive into a herd of shaggy, long hairedlonghaired beasts with thick, short curly horns. These are musk oxen from the far north. Some deer graze quietly, and a distant dark spot turns into a large black bear. These are the animals of the Canadian boreal forest. And so are the caribou just ahead.
Along your way you will encounter several reconstructed historic scenes. One of these is the old trading post built in 1732, whose palisade walls and assorted buildings roofed with birch bark were very comfortable for anyone who was used to the discomforts of the fur trade trail.
The bowl in which Lake St. Jean rests was surrounded by spruce, which was valuable for lumber and wood pulp to make paper. The lumberjack camp illustrates the very tough life of the early woodsman.
If you are an adventurist, you could sign up for an overnight in the prospector’s tent, which is set in the midst of a forest filled with caribou. They make great neighbours and will likely graze through the camp, and maybe even settle down to rest and chew their cud just outside your tent. Supper will be prepared the old way, cooked over the fire. You will be given an opportunity to go canoeing on Lake Montagnais. Later, if you are lucky, you might see a beautiful sunset as the sun drops down behind the trees at the edge of the lake.
Much of the fame and allure of the 480-hectares zoo is the direct result of the efforts made to make everything look authentically wild. The animals have lots of room to roam instead of pacing in small dirty cages. It definitely makes a difference.
The Camping St. Felicien is next door. This campground seems to be a hit with families, and it’s likely to be busy. The campsites are quite large and surrounded by grass and trees. There’s a children’s playground, swimming pool and water slides, tennis court, sports field, and a handy restaurant.
If you decide to go, allow plenty of time. The trip to the zoo is just the beginning of your discovery trail.
www.quebecoriginal.com/en-ca/where-to-go/regions-cities/saguenay-lac-saint-jean