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.

14,005 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 giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at Zoo Atlanta. This endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered species is native to China.

Picture of a golden silk spider (Nephila clavipes) at the St. Louis Zoo.

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

Photo: An endangered, female Visayan tarictic hornbill (Penelopides panini panini) at Negros Forest Park.

Picture of a vulnerable female Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) at the Endangered Primate Rescue Center in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam.

A St. Andrew beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis), a federally endangered rodent, in Panama City, FL. This and several other beach mice subspecies are imperiled due to beach development. (US: Endangered)

Photo: Negros scops owl (Otus nigrorum) at Negros Forest Park in Bacolod City, Negros Island, the Philippines.

Picture of a panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

Photo: Palawan stink badger (Mydaus marchei) at Avilon Zoo.

Picture of tuataras (Sphenodon punctatus) at the Wellington 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 pair of four-week-old old Asian leopard cats, (Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis). These two were found abandoned by their mother in a burning field and brought to the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB), a wildlife rehab center in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

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

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

An endangered Malayan tiger, Panthera tigris jacksoni, at the Omaha Zoo.

Critically endangered (IUCN) Sulawesi macaques (Macaca nigra) at the Omaha Zoo.

An endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) at the Omaha Zoo.

A picture of a red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus lineatus) at the Sutton Avian Research Center.

A picture of an American bison (Bos bison bison) at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

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

Joel Sartore prepares to photograph El Segundo flower-loving fly (Rhaphiomidas terminatus terminatus). With fewer than 100 individuals left on Earth, this species is as close to extinction as you can get. This animal was thought to be extinct since the end of the 1960s but a small remnant population was discovered in the early 2000s.

The critically-endangered orange-bellied parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) at the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary. This is one of the rarest birds in the world with fewer than 50 left in the wild.

A red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas), at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS.

Photo: Visayan leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis rabori) at the Avilon Zoo.

A portrait of a marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata).

Picture of a critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) at the Kukrail Gharial and Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in Lucknow, India.

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

A critically endangered sumatran orangutan, Pongo abelii, at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX.

A picture of blue waxbills (Uraeginthus angolensis niassensis) (awake or dozing off) are a common sight in Gorongosa's dry, bushy grasslands.

Picture of a critically endangered Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) at Zealandia, in Wellington, New Zealand.

Vulnerable (IUCN) and federally endangered mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX.

A critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) at the Miller Park Zoo.

Two koala joeys (Phascolarctos cinereus) cling to each other, waiting to be placed with human caregivers at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland. Once they're old enough, they'll be released into the wild.

A sunbittern (Eurypyga helias ) at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Joel Sartore News

Photo Ark 14,000th Species Announcement

The Photo Ark is excited to welcome the 14,000th species! Jolie, an Indochinese green magpie (Cissa hypoleuca), was photographed at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, where she serves as an ambassador for her species and captures visitors’ attention with her vibrant colors, bold personality and curiosity. While Jolie pops with greens,…

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