Yesterday afternoon my friend Jenn and I visited the James Museum in downtown St. Pete. Though we both love the outdoors, with the hot and humid weather, we opted for an indoor adventure instead.

We were further enticed by a special National Geographic exhibition, Wolves: photography by Ronan Donovan. Donovan focused on two distinct packs of wolves; one that roams Ellesmere Island and Mollie’s pack (one of the original packs that were introduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995).

I found the exhibition especially interesting as I had attended a screening of Lost Wolves of Yellowstone a few months back. The documentary shared recently discovered, behind the scenes footage of the politically fraught, but biologically sound, plan to return wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem.

The story of the wild canines was compelling enough but the director entwined it with that of Mollie Beatty, the first woman to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (she oversaw the wolves’ return).

I won’t go into detail, suffice it to say, wolves would not be in Yellowstone today if it hadn’t been for the tremendous effort by Mollie. Only fitting that, in a rare departure from protocol, Alpha Female #5 (one of the first wolves released) was named after her.

Though both their namesakes are deceased, members of Mollie’s pack still roam the park, a fitting testament to those two strong females.

Afterward, Jenn and I walked over to the waterfront for a bit of a nosh. Thankfully, by then the heat had eased as clouds chased across the sky.

If you have a chance to catch either the exhibition or the documentary, I highly recommend them both!