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

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

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

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

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

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

Picture of a six-day-old Malayan tapir, Tapirus indicus, at the Minnesota Zoo. Endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered

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

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.

A Linne's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus).

Southern corroboree frogs (Pseudophryne corroboree) a critically endangered species at the Healesville Sanctuary in Healesville, Victoria, Australia.

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

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 endangered red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) at the Miller Park Zoo.

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

Picture of bats, songbirds and a hawk killed by a single wind turbine in a year.

Picture of a Haitian ground boa (Epicrates fordii) from a private collection in the Dominican Republic.

Yellow-streaked lory (Chalcopsitta sintillata rubrifrons) at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

A male tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus).

A vulnerable 1-year-old fossa, Cryptoprocta ferox, at the Omaha Zoo. This is Madagascar's largest mammalian predator, and its numbers are declining in the wild.

A critically endangered male Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure near Salina, KS.

Picture of a naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) at the Saint Louis Zoo.

A half-day-old hatchling leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) from the wild in Bioko. This species is listed as critically endangered by IUCN, and federally endangered (US).

A kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) named Frankie at The Living Desert.

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

An endangered (IUCN) and federally threatened Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) at the Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari near Ashland, Nebraska.

Picture of an endangered Matschie's tree-kangaroo with her joey (Dendrolagus matschiei) at Zoo Miami.

Picture of a platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) at the Healesville Sanctuary in Healesville, Victoria, Australia.

A male wrinkled hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus) at the Houston Zoo.

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

Warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) at the Columbus Zoo.

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

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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