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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.

6,531 species photographed for the Photo Ark
A modern-day Noah
—NBC Nightly News
1 porcupine on the cover of
National Geographic
4 times chased by grizzlies
250 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

Picture of an endangered North island kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) at the Columbus Zoo.

A pair of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua papua).

Photo: An Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) at the Omaha Zoo.

Photo: Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) from the Toiyabe subpopulation near Austin, NV. (Candidate for listing under the US Endangered Species Act.)

A three-month-old baby chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) named Ruben at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. Listed as endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered

Photo: Purple-banded sunbird (Nectarinia bifasciata) at Chitengo Camp, in Gorongosa National Park.

Photo: Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) at the Miller Park Zoo.

Picture of an endangered fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) at the Point Defiance Zoo.

Photo: 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.

Picture of a flock of scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas.

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

Photo: A Linne's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus).

Photo: A musk ox (Obvibos moschatus) at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, AK.

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

Photo: Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). There are only 10 in captivity world wide and are being phased out of zoos.

Picture of a vulnerable adult female white bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) with her baby, part of Pangolin Conservation, a non-profit organization in Saint Augustine, Florida.

Photo: A white-faced saki monkey (Pithecia pithecia) at the Kansas City Zoo.

Picture of a platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) at the Healesville Sanctuary in Healesville, Victoria, Australia.

Photo: Sara, the federally endangered whooping crane (Grus americana), at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species.

Raggiana Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Picture of a vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered, booming Attwater's Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas.

Photo: Blue waxbills (Uraeginthus angolensis) (awake or dozing off) are a common sight in Gorongosa's dry, bushy grasslands.

Photo: Vulnerable Chiricahua leopard frogs (Lithobates chiricahuensis) at the Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Arizona.

Photo: A nine-week-old clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) at the Columbus Zoo.

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

Photo: With one of the world's largest migratory routes, the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) finds itself especially susceptible to any disruption in its feeding areas along the way.

A sunbittern (Eurypyga helias ) at the Cincinnati Zoo.

South Georgia king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus) at the Indianapolis Zoo.

Photo: A pair of blue poison dart frogs (Dendrobates azureus) at Reptile Gardens.

Picture of a naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) at the Saint Louis Zoo.

Picture of Harapan, a four-year-old male Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), at White Oak Conservation Center. Critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered

Photo: A captive California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) at the Phoenix Zoo.

Photo: Damaraland mole rats (Cryptomys damarensis) at the Houston Zoo. These burrowing rodents from sub-Saharan Africa are one of only two known eusocial mammals.

Photo: Federally endangered mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX.

Joel Sartore News

RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark

Discover the diversity, beauty and value of thousands of species at risk of extinction, and travel the globe with renowned photographer and Photo Ark founder Joel Sartore in his quest to save them, premiering on PBS: Tuesday, July 18th, 9/8 CST. RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark

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