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.

6,531 species photographed for the Photo Ark
A modern-day Noah

—NBC Nightly News
1 porcupine 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

Photo: Bryn, a female Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) -- one of two Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits left, the end of the line for this race of animals.

Northern White-faced Owls (Ptilopsis leucotis) at the Cincinnati Zoo.

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

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.

Photo: An endangered Coquerel's sifaka at Lemuria Land in Madagascar.

Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Picture of a great blue turaco (Corythaeola cristata) at the Houston Zoo.

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

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

A vulnerable male African lion (Panthera leo krugeri) named Mr. Big at the Omaha Zoo.

A two-headed yellow-belied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) at Riverbanks 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

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

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

Warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) at the Columbus Zoo.

Photo: An American crocodile (Crocodilus acutus) at the Omaha Zoo.

Picture of American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

An Inca tern (Larosterna inca) at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas.

An Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) at the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure. (IUCN: endangered)

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

Picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) at Ocean Park.

Photo: A green tree python (Morelia viridis) at the Riverside Zoo.

An ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) at the Omaha 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.

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

Red-necked wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Picture of an Argentine horned frog (Ceratophrys ornata) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris exalbidus) at the Miller Park Zoo.

A young female snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus).

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

Picture of a rusty-spotted genet or Central African large-spotted genet (Genetta maculata) at the Miller Park Zoo.

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

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

Purple-banded sunbird (Nectarinia bifasciata) at Chitengo Camp, in Gorongosa National Park.

Joel Sartore News

See the Animals from “Rare” on PBS

Here are some of the amazing animals featured in RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark, airing July 2017 on PBS. I hope that my photographs will help people fall in love with the animals I capture, and realize that these rare species tie directly back into their own lives. Animals Featured in Episode 3 Missed Episode…

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