Pristine snow. Perhaps a few magpie tracks, but otherwise, the area was completely untouched. The native bushes gently waved in the wind, silence surrounding me. The former bear gardens were always unused garden space during winter months because our bears hibernated from November to March. But now that Ramble and Bramble had their glorious new gardens, the old bear enclosures and gardens were perpetually vacant… or were they waiting for other sanctuary residents to use the space?
I initially noticed a subtle change in the energy last spring, after we planted over 200 native trees and bushes in the new bear gardens. That area had been nothing but sagebrush, but suddenly the delighted chirps of birds filled the air as they nested in the newly planted trees and dipped their feet in the wetlands.
Then, we decided to upcycle two of the former bear gardens for the use of our wolfdog, Hope. From the very first moment he entered his new garden space, that subtle shift of energy turned drastic—but in the most positive way.
In the beginning, Hope stayed close to me, wary of his new environment, but slowly, his confidence grew. He explored the new garden and marked every bush he went past, sniffing every pile of snow. I looked up and saw our cougar Tahi watching from her enclosure. She was used to seeing him in the wolf garden, but now he was much closer—and she was fascinated. She stood on her hind legs to get a better view. There was no aggression to her stance; she was genuinely intrigued. A few minutes later, wolf pup Akela appeared and sat on a hill in the wolf garden to watch Hope play. He started whimpering, wanting to get closer. The area Hope occupied was adjacent to a corner in the wolf garden that the wolves typically paid little attention to.
And Tundra! Formerly Hope’s arch rival, Tundra the wolf doesn’t get along with many of our wolves, other than his mate Kenai. He hated when Hope was in the wolf garden near his enclosure. Now that Hope has moved to the former bear gardens and Tundra can visit him from the open area of the wolf garden, he loves Hope. He goes into the wolf garden and immediately runs down the length of it to see if Hope is out. And if so, he spends a majority of his time whimpering and running along the fenceline, often ignoring Kenai, as Hope joyfully trots along in his own garden.
What had felt like the edge of our property, quiet and unmarred, now has paw prints scattered throughout. It has come alive. Wolves in one direction, Tahi the cougar in another. Birds in the air above, and bears along the eastern edge. Hope and his garden have become the center of everything.
I wonder how much more the energy will shift now that the bears are waking up and will begin to wander around their night yards?
