Odanak

With its mouth wide open, the black bear waits for visitors as a small, crested duck waddles proudly in front of him. Awakened by the loud shrieks of the duck, the beaver looks for a branch to munch on as deers quietly look on. The wolves are on the look out, the ermine lurks, and the team of reporters suddenly feels like they're being spied on.

Two hundred black eyes peer at us strangers and seem to record our every move. Standing among his beasts, Yannick Dekens, Club Odanak's owner, is watching our reaction closely.

"What do you think of my taxidermy display?" he asks, visibly worried.

Our cameraman Yanick Rose grabs his Betacam as we hear Denis Bouchard's camera clicking away. The animals pose for pictures without a single complaint, their chests out and their heads held high. Mr. Dekens breathes a sigh of relief; his animals are making a good impression.

Ever since opening this game preserve in 1995, Mr. Dekens has wanted to have a taxidermy display like this one to allow curious tourists to learn about Quebec and Canada's wildlife. A hunter greets all the visitors, and introduces the newcomers to the local fauna and to the habitat, living habits, food, hunters and hunted. Immortalized, fixed in time by a La Tuque taxidermist's skilful hand, the animals obediently stand at attention.

"People are happy to be able to observe animals without their running away at the first sound" explains our host. "To see these beasts in nature, you have to really understand them; it's not always easy."

However, Yannick and his son Frank, who also manages the game preserve, have their own unique way of observing beavers in the wild. Clients in tow, they slowly walk up to a beaver dam, remove a few of the branches and wait for fifteen minutes or so. Then, as sure as the sun rises every morning, a beaver comes to repair the hole in his natural La Grande 2.

"We've come to an understanding with the beavers" says Frank Dekens. "We don't tear down their dam, which blocks the access road to a neighbouring lake, and they put on their little show for the benefit of the guests!"

Frank is like Club Odanak's entertainment director. "Always there when you need him," whispers his father. The younger Dekens takes care of the clients, from their arrival to their last minutes at Club Odanak. In the meantime, guests will take part in a wide variety of activities, ranging from the observation of bears to ice bowling, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and quad or snowmobile rides, depending on the season. "I like to see people enjoying themselves," says Frank. "When they come back tired after a long day, I know I've done my job. Even if, every summer, clients like to throw me in the lake to thank me for all that hard work!"

Despite being only a half hour outside of La Tuque, Club Odanak seems to be lost in the depths of the forest, far away from any civilization. Singing birds and chirping crickets surprise the urban guests and you only have to keep your eyes open to catch a glimpse of some small animal scurrying away on a forest path. "I love nature," explains Yannick Dekens, "even if sometimes I have to kill some to control the population. We also have to catch some animals to keep others from being slaughtered, like we did when those three wolves were threatening our deers."

Now frozen for eternity as part of the taxidermy display, the wolves still seem to be waiting to pounce on their prey at the first chance they get. We exit the room tiptoe, as Yannick Dekens locks the door behind us.

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