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.

8000 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

Photo: A red celestial eye, a fancy breed of goldfish at Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

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

Picture of critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Edward's pheasants at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS.

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

An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at Zoo Atlanta.

A porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) at the Great Plains Zoo.

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

A vulnerable (IUCN) and federally threatened polar bear (Ursus maritimus) at the Tulsa Zoo.

Picture of a row of critically endangered ploughshare tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora) at Zoo Atlanta.

A pair of red-backed bearded sakis (Chiropotes chiropotes) at the Omaha Zoo.

Albino eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) at the Columbus 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

A sunbittern (Eurypyga helias ) at the Cincinnati Zoo.

An endangered (IUCN) East African crowned crane (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps) at the Kansas City Zoo.

An Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) at the Omaha Zoo.

Picture of an Arizona tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) at the St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Missouri.

Picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered, male Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) at the Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden in Ahmedabad, India.

Picture of an opossum (Didelphis virginiana) with babies.

An endangered Indian rhinoceros female with calf (Rhinoceros unicornis) at the Fort Worth Zoo.

A critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered captive Catalina Island fox (Urocyon littoralis catalinae) named Tachi at Quail Valley Fox Clinic on Catalina Island, CA. This animal is the last captive left over from a breeding program designed to save the species that took place from 2001-2004. A hand-raised animal, it is now used for education. Biologists estimate just over 500 of these foxes live on Catalina Island, California. This animal is a subspecies of the Channel Island fox.

A male eastern bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) at the Great Plains Zoo.

Gray's crowned guenon (Cercopithecus pogonias grayi ) at the Cincinnati Zoo. There are five individuals left of this species in captivity. All five reside at the Cincinnati Zoo.

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

Picture of an American great egret (Ardea alba egretta) at the Saint Louis Zoo.

A pair of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua papua).

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.

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

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

Picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Franois langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) at the Kansas City Zoo.

Barrens topminnow (Fundulus julisia) at Conservation Fisheries, a native stream fish breeding center. This species is vulnerable (IUCN). It is only found in the Barrens Plateau in middle Tennessee, making it one of the rarest fish in eastern North America.

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

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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