Man on a Mission:
Building 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.

16,003 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: A crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis fascicularis) at Monkey Forest.

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

Photo: An Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) at the Plzen Zoo and Botanical Garden in Plzen, Czech Republic.

Photo: A rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris) at the Plzen Zoo and Botanical Garden in Plzen, Czech Republic.

Photo: Masked palm civet, Paguma larvata annectens, at Zoo Negara.

Picture of a black swan (Cygnus atratus) at the Kansas City Zoo.

A picture of a black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi petersi) named Beast at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Nebraska.

Photo: An Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo.

Portraits of 'Orange', the last dusky seaside sparrow (Ammospiza maritima nigrescens).

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

Picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) at the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden.

A venomous tiger keelback snake (Rhabdophis tigrinus) at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas.

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 male Lesser Egyptian jerboa (Jaculus jaculus) named Osiris at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Bryn, the federally endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis), sat for this portrait in 2007 at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon. She was one of two female Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits left, the end of the line for this race of animals. Since there are no males left, this means only animals intercrossed with the Idaho race will survive. She died in 2008, marking the end of her genetic line. This subpopulation lost its sagebrush habitat as the land was developed for agriculture in the state of Washington.

Photo: Palawan stink badger (Mydaus marchei) at Avilon Zoo.

A picture of twin federally endangered giant panda cubs (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) named Mei Lun and Mei Huan at Zoo Atlanta. This species is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.

A blessed dart frog (Ranitomeya benedicta), Pampa Hermosa, Satipo, Peru locality at the LA Zoo.

Photo: A juvenile big-eared opossum (Didelphis aurita) at the Membeca Lagos Farm, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Photo: A golden silk orb-weaver (Trichonephila clavipes) at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida.

Photo: Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) at the Moscow Zoo.

Photo: An endangered Peruvian woolly monkey (Lagothrix cana) at Cetas-IBAMA, a wildlife rehab center in Manaus, Brazil.

Picture of an Arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus, at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo in Great Bend, Kansas.

Photo: A mating pair of red tree frogs (Leptopelis rufus) collected near Manjo, Cameroon.

Picture of a antennata lionfish (Pterois antennata) at the Dallas Children's Aquarium.

A picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered, female South China tiger, Panthera tigris amoyensis, at the Suzhou Zoo in China. This is a species that may be gone from the wild now, and as of 2015, there are only 100 in captivity.

A picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) at the Singapore Zoo.

Photo: Visayan leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis rabori) at the Avilon Zoo. This species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list.

A Bothrops alternatus (Urutu) at the Chattanooga Zoo.

A picture of a federally endangered marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata) at Zoo Taiping.

Two koala joeys (Phascolarctos cinereus) cling to each other, waiting to be placed with human caregivers at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland. Once they're old enough, they'll be released into the wild.

Photo: A male Philippine robin (Copsychus mindanensis) on Semirara Island in the Philippines.

Joel Sartore News

16,000th Species: Santa Cruz long-toed salamander

The Photo Ark is celebrating both our 18th Anniversary as well as an incredible milestone, the 16,000th species to board the Ark. The Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) is a federally endangered salamander species found only in a small area between Santa Cruz and Monterey, California. This species is threatened by habitat…

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