RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark

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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.

7,885 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
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.

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Recent Talks

An ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) at the Omaha Zoo.

Little red flying fox (Pteropus scapulatus) from the Australian Bat Clinic and Narrow Leaf Retreat.

Photo: An emerald swallowtail (Papilio palinurus) at the Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans.

Albino eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) at the Columbus Zoo

A grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum) with a pair of West African black-crowned cranes (Balearica pavonina pavonina) at the Columbus Zoo, Columbus, Ohio.

A red fan parrot (Deroptyus accipitrinus accipitrinus) at the Houston Zoo.

A Malayan great argus (Argusianus argus argus) at the Houston Zoo.

A spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata).

Photo: Hibernating Arctic ground squirrels (Spermopilus parryii) at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

The critically-endangered orange-bellied parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) at the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary. This is one of the rarest birds in the world with fewer than 50 left in the wild.

A sunbittern (Eurypyga helias ) at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Geoffroy's tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi) at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

Kindu, a Schmidt's red-tailed guenon (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti). Kindu was hand raised at the Houston Zoo. During bottle feedings, Kindu was given a surrogate stuffed animal that he still loves.

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

Picture of an opossum (Didelphis virginiana) with babies.

James bond the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) at The Living Desert.

Endangered Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.

De Brazza's monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus) at the Omaha Zoo.

Photo: An alligator at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Picture of sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) from a private collection in the Dominican Republic.

A vulnerable black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi) named Beast, at the Omaha Zoo.

Picture of an endangered red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Two vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered white-naped cranes (Antigone vipio) at the Columbus Zoo, Columbus, Ohio.

A vulnerable (IUCN) and federally-endangered clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) at the Houston Zoo. The population trend of the clouded leopard is decreasing with less than 10,000 in the wild.

An endangered San Lucas marsupial frog (Gastrotheca pseustes) tadpole collected near Pilalo, Ecuador.

A captive, five-month-old mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. IUCN: Vulnerable

A West Usambara two-horned chameleon (Kinyongia multituberculata) at the Houston Zoo.

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

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

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

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) from Sierra Chincua, Mexico.

Picture of endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Francois langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) at the Omaha Zoo

Vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) named 'Usi' from the Omaha Zoo.

Joel Sartore News

USA Today Publishes Story About 12 Days of Photo Ark

On December 12th, 2017, USA Today published a story documenting the Photo Ark’s 12 Days of Christmas social media campaign. The Photo Ark project, which aims to document every species living in the world’s zoos and other protected areas before they’re extinct, is releasing one photo a day for 12 days on social media. From koalas to…

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