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

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

Madagascar ibis (Lophotibis cristata) at the Omaha Zoo.

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

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

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.

An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) at the Miller Park Zoo.

A critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered red wolf (Canis rufus gregoryi) at the Great Plains Zoo.

Vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) named 'Usi' from the Omaha Zoo.

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

Vulnerable (IUCN) and federally threatened Chiricahua leopard frogs (Lithobates chiricahuensis) at the Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Arizona.

Picture of a vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered, booming Attwater's Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas.

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 vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered young, female Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) at the Omaha Zoo.

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

A pair of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua papua).

Picture of a vulnerable (IUCN) and federally threatened loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) at the Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, South Carolina.

Gladys, a six-week-old western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at the Cincinnati Zoo. Listed as critically endangered and federally endangered.

Photo: A musk ox (Obvibos moschatus) at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, AK.

A pair of blue poison dart frogs (Dendrobates azureus) at Reptile Gardens.

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

A spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata).

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

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

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

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

James bond the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) at The Living Desert.

Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) from the Toiyabe subpopulation near Austin, NV. (Candidate for listing under the US Endangered Species Act.)

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

Picture of endangered Toad mountain harlequin frogs (Atelopus certus) in amplexus at the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project.

A federally endangered gray wolf (Canis lupus) at the New York State Zoo in Watertown, NY.

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

Picture of red-sided eclectus parrots or New Guinea eclectus (Eclectus roratus polychloros) at Parrots in Paradise, a bird attraction in Glass House Mountains, Queensland.

A giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at Zoo Atlanta. This endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered species is native to China.

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

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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