Created by the National Geographic Society and the National Museum of Wildlife Art, this exhibition will present stunning photography and videos of wild wolves living in two very different environments: the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the American West and Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic.
Highlights From the Exhibition
The two locations highlight the contrasting behaviors between wolves living in perceived competition with humans (Yellowstone) and wolves living without human intervention (Ellesmere). Since 2014, National Geographic Explorer and photographer Ronan Donovan has examined the relationship between wild wolves and humans in order to better understand the animals, our shared history, and what drives the persistent human-wolf conflict.
“The way that a culture views wolves can reveal a lot about how a society interacts with their environment—is there a belief of power over animals, or is there a collective shared landscape? As a visual storyteller, my goal is to portray my subjects in their most authentic way by showing the challenges they face as well as the tender moments between family members.”
Ronan Donovan, Photographer
As wolves in North America are increasingly under threat due to recent extreme wolf-control laws, and humans continue to impinge on the land and food sources that these animals need to survive, Donovan hopes that his photos will provide people with a better understanding of these often misunderstood animals. He also hopes they will see wolves as they are: powerful, intelligent, social mammals that have evolved to live in family structures similar to humans.