Photo: Joel Sartore on assignment at Sierra Chincua (Chincua Mountain) in Mexico, a wintering spot for monarch butterflies.

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.

11,309 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

A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) named Bensar at the George M. Sutton Avian Research Center.

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

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

Like all gibbons, the gray gibbon has unusually long arms which are used to move through trees and to forage. This endangered species is being 'phased out' at zoos because there are too few in captivity to keep bloodlines vital and the species isn't showy.

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 endangered sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) at the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Center in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam.

Photo: A five-day-old Chiriqui white-tailed deer fawn (Odocoileus virginianus chiriquensis) at the Summit Municipal Park in Gamboa, Panama.

Picture of two ringed teal (Callonetta leucophrys) at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park.

A vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa nebulosa) at the Houston Zoo.

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

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

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

Picture of a federally endangered, female Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) at the Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden in Ahmedabad, India.

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 a brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) at the PanAmerican Conservation Association in Gamboa, Panama.

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.

Uno, a federally endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) at the Naples Zoo. A gunshot wound caused Uno to go blind in 2014.

Photo: A naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Picture of a common genet (Genetta genetta) at the Conservators center.

Photo: An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) at the Vrendenberg Lab.

Photo: Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta syrichta) at Avilon Zoo. This animal has the second largest eyes in the world compared to brain size.

Picture of an endangered Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) at the Budapest Zoo.

Photo: Baby aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) named Tonks, 16 days old, at the Denver Zoo.

Picture of a Plain pigeon (Patagioenas inornata) at the Parque Zoologico Nacional in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

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

Picture of a vulnerable Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) at the Budapest Zoo.

Picture of near threatened silvery langur (Trachypithecus cristatus) at the Lowry Park Zoo.

Picture of a bull elk with his antlers in velvet (Cervus canadensis) at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus)

Photo: Three fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda) at the Saint Louis Zoo.

Photo: Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) at the MK Nature Center in Boise, Idaho.

A picture of a critically endangered and federally endangered, female South China tiger, Panthera tigris amoyensis, at the Suzhou Zoo in China.

D.J. is an 11-month-old Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and Dirgahayu “Ayu” is an 11-month-old Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Unfortunately, both species are critically endangered, in large part due to the palm oil crisis. Both of these juvenile primates are cared for by the Taman Safari in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.

Joel Sartore News

Photo Ark Madness 2021

March is here again and so it is time for the second year of the Photo Ark Madness tournament! Throughout the month of March, we’ll be featuring head to head matches of a variety of species featured in the Photo Ark. You can vote via stories on our Instagram page @joelsartore to help determine which…

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