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.

8485 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.

Book Joel to Speak

Recent Talks

Portrait of an eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) at the San Francisco State University.

An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) at the Miller Park Zoo.

Picture of a four-horned chameleon (Chamaeleo quadricornis quadricornis) at the Saint Louis Zoo.

A male wrinkled hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus) at the Houston 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.

An Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) at the Omaha Zoo.

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. Overfishing of horseshoe crabs along the eastern coast of the US has taken away a much-needed source of energy for the species. (US: Candidate for listing)

A Choctawhatchee beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus allophrys) a federally-endangered rodent.

Vulnerable (IUCN) and federally threatened Chiricahua leopard frogs (Lithobates chiricahuensis) at the Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Arizona.

A federally endangered Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) at the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center.

Photo: A mother koala named Augustine and her baby.

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

A giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at Zoo Atlanta. This endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered species is native to China.

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

A vulnerable 1-year-old fossa, Cryptoprocta ferox, at the Omaha Zoo. This is Madagascar's largest mammalian predator, and its numbers are declining in the wild.

Madagascar ibis (Lophotibis cristata) at the Omaha Zoo.

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

A western harris' hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus superior) named Hudson at The Living Desert.

Critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) at the St. Louis Zoo's Monsanto Insectarium.

Picture of Week old western snowy plover chicks (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Picture of a gliding or Spurrell's tree frog (Agalychnis spurrelli) at the Saint Louis Zoo.

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

An Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis). Also known as harlequin ladybird, multicolored Asian lady beetle and halloween lady beetle.

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

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

Pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Picture of a federally endangered Plymouth red-bellied turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris bangsi) sometimes called the Plymouth red-bellied cooter, at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

A pair of Vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

A male okapi (Okapia johnstoni) at White Oak Conservation Center.

Blue waxbills (Uraeginthus angolensis) (awake or dozing off) are a common sight in Gorongosa's dry, bushy grasslands. So far, nearly 400 bird species have been documented in the park.

A vulnerable African elephant (Loxodonta africana) at the Indianapolis Zoo.

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

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

A portrait of a federally endangered peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus).

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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