Photo: Sandra Sneckenberger and Joel Sartore with a pair of eight-week-old tiger cubs at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores, AL. Address: 1204 Gulf Shores Parkway, Gulf Shores, AL 36542.

Man on a Mission:
Building the Photo Ark

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Dear Friends, We are still open for business, but it might take longer to fill your orders and requests as we have shifted to minimal staffing as a precaution against COVID-19. We appreciate your patience.

I’m Joel Sartore.

Ever wonder about those wildlife photographers who risk life and limb to get the perfect shot? That’s me. I’ve spent 25 years with National Geographic—and I’ve got the stories and scars to prove it. These days my focus is on the Photo Ark, the world’s largest collection of animal studio portraits. My goal is simple: to get the public to care and save species from extinction.

9844 species photographed for the Photo Ark
A modern-day Noah

—NBC Nightly News
1 porcupine named Piper on the cover of
National Geographic
4 times chased by grizzlies
300 talks given worldwide
2 spitting cobras found in camera gear

Speaking Engagements

“Joel never fails to dazzle.”
Known for his sense of humor and incredible stories from the field, Joel is a popular speaker with conservation, corporate, and civic groups.

Hire him to entertain and inspire your audience.

Book Joel to Speak

Recent Talks

Photo: Gelada baboons (Theropithecus gelada) at Parco Natura Viva in Bussolengo, Italy.

Picture of a federally threatened, Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) named Yukon at the Point Defiance Zoo.

Mei Lun and Mei Huan, the twin giant panda cubs (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at Zoo Atlanta.

Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) at the Miller Park Zoo.

A vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa nebulosa) at the Houston Zoo.

Photo: A rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) at the Exmoor Zoo in England.

Picture of a curl-crested aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaesii) at the Dallas World Aquarium.

Picture of Nabire, a Northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni)

A red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) at the Sutton Avian Research Center.

A portrait of a marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata).

Picture of a brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) at the PanAmerican Conservation Association in Gamboa, Panama.

A male Himalayan monal pheasant (Lophophorus impejanus) at Pheasant Heaven, a private pheasant breeding center near Clinton, NC.

A critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered red wolf (Canis rufus gregoryi) at the Great Plains Zoo.

Joel is the founder of the Photo Ark, a 25-year effort to photograph every species in human care around the globe.

Explore the Photo Ark

An Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) at the Omaha Zoo.

Vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX.

Picture of a vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) at the Columbus Zoo.

Budgett's frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis) at the Baltimore Aquarium.

A unique color variant of an eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) named "Blondie" at the Saint Louis Zoo. When she came from North Carolina to the zoo as a juvenile, she only had a couple of orange spots. Over the past 12 years her color has morphed into this very showy orange.

An endangered Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) at the Houston Zoo.

Picture of a Peruvian giant yellow-leg centipede or Amazonian giant centipede (Scolopendra gigantea) at the National Aviary of Colombia.

A St. Andrew beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis), a federally endangered rodent, in Panama City, FL. This and several other beach mice subspecies are imperiled due to beach development. (US: Endangered)

A larva and a pupa of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) at Spring Creek Prairie near Denton, Nebraska.

Picture of American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) at the Omaha Zoo.

Picture of an endangered white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.

A critically endangered sumatran orangutan, Pongo abelii, at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX.

A female, vulnerable African elephant (Loxodonta africana) at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Photo: A female giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) at the Alaska SeaLife Center.

Picture of a vulnerable four-toed jerboa (Allactaga tetradactyla) at the Plzen Zoo in the Czech Republic.

Picture of a panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

A vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) at the Omaha Zoo.

A federally endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) named Lucy at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.

Picture of a vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered St. Vincent parrot (Amazona guildingii) at the Houston Zoo.

Joel Sartore News

Photo Ark Madness

March Madness is upon us, and this year, the Photo Ark is unveiling its very own month-long tournament! Throughout the month of March, we’ll be featuring head to head matches of a variety of species featured in the Photo Ark. You can vote via stories on our Instagram page @joelsartore to help determine which animals…

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