IMAX documentary film uncovering the daring wildlife experiment of reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone National Park, shown at the Fleet Science Center.
Lost Wolves of Yellowstone is playing at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, starting today, October 5, and running through October 18. It's an IMAX documentary that tells the true story of grey wolves returning to Yellowstone National Park on January 12, 1995—more than 50 years after they'd been wiped out in the 1920s.
The film is built from long-lost 16mm archival footage, so you're seeing the actual events as they happened rather than a recreation. It follows Mollie Beattie, then director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as she carries the first Canadian-born wolf into the park's experimental acclimation enclosure. That animal, Alpha Female Wolf No. 5, went on to found the Crystal Creek pack, better known as Mollie's Pack. From there, the film shows the wolves settling in and the trophic cascade that had collapsed the ecosystem in their absence, and how their return brought order back to places like Lamar Valley. It's billed as a chance to step into one of the most daring wildlife experiments in American history.
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It plays on the giant dome at the Fleet, San Diego's largest IMAX screen, which is a good way to see the archival footage. Showtimes on October 5 are at 12 PM and 2 PM, and then at 2 PM on October 6, 7, 8, and 9. School groups can catch the 11 AM screenings Monday through Thursday. One documentary film is included with a Fleet Experience admission ticket purchased online and scanned at the center's entrance on your date of choice; individual tickets for the film aren't available.
