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

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

Sara, the endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered whooping crane (Grus americana), at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species. This is an educational bird.

Photo: A mother koala named Augustine and her baby.

Picture of a Brazilian porcupine (Coendou prehensilis) at the Saint Louis Zoo.

Photo: Hours-old least tern (Sterna antillarum) chicks sleep as they're photographed near North Bend, Nebraska.

A three-month-old baby chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) named Ruben at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. Listed as endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered

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

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.

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

Picture of an Argentine horned frog (Ceratophrys ornata) at the Lincoln Children's 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 giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at Zoo Atlanta. This endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered species is native to China.

Photo: A kaiser spotted newt (Neurergus kaiseri) from Conservation Fisheries.

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

Royal Antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus). This species weighs 9-10 pounds making it the smallest of all antelopes.

A Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) at Zoo Atlanta.

De Brazza's monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus) at the Omaha Zoo.

Kindu, a Schmidt's red-tailed guenon (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti). Kindu was hand raised at the Houston Zoo. During bottle feedings, Kindu was given a surrogate stuffed animal that he still loves.

Picture of Rajah, an endangered, male white Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) at Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

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

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

A vulnerable sarus crane (Grus antigone) at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO.

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

A California quail (Callipepla californica) at Parrots in Paradise, a bird attraction in Glass House Mountains, Queensland.

A vulnerable pygmy slow loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) at the Omaha Zoo.

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

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

Picture of a vulnerable giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) named Ellie Mae with her pup, Zander, at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas. Zander was born in January, 2013.

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

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

An African wild cat (Felis silvestris lybica) at Omaha Zoo's Wildlife Safari Park.

Endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). There are only 10 in captivity world wide and are being phased out of zoos.

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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