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.

15,325 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 West Usambara two-horned chameleon (Kinyongia multituberculata) at the Houston Zoo.

Photo: A tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, Kansas.

Photo: Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) at the MK Nature Center in Boise, Idaho.

Budgett's frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis) at the Baltimore Aquarium.

A picture of a pair of four-week-old old federally endangered 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.

Photo: A vulnerable dwarf pea pufferfish (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) at a private collection in Gainesville, Florida.

Picture of an endangered Southern yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) at the Endangered Primate Rescue Center in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam.

A picture of a federally endangered marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata) at Zoo Taiping.

A picture of a critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered baby Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) named Aurora, with her adoptive mother, Cheyenne, a Bornean/Sumatran cross (Pongo pygmaeus x abelii) at the Houston Zoo.

Philippine pit viper (Trimeresurus flavomaculatus) at the Avilon Zoo.

Photo: A female giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) at the Alaska SeaLife Center.

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

Geoffroy's tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi) at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

A picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered pileated gibbon with her eight-month-old infant (Hylobates pileatus) at the Gibbon Conservation Center

Picture of a brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) at the PanAmerican Conservation Association in Gamboa, Panama.

Photo: An ankole-watusi (Bos taurus watusi) at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa.

A picture of a half-day-old federally endangered hatchling leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) from Bioko Island. This species is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.

A picture of a critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Bornean rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni) named Pahu at the Kelian Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia.

A compton tortoiseshell butterfly (Nymphalis vaualbum) from Cross Lake, Minnesota.

A picture of a Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) photographed on the grounds of the Symington Estates in Portugal.

A captive, five-month-old mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. IUCN: Vulnerable

A male Himalayan monal pheasant (Lophophorus impejanus) at Pheasant Heaven, a private pheasant breeding center near Clinton, NC.

A picture of an endangered pilalo tree frog (Hyloscirtus ptychodactylus) at Balsa de los Sapos in Quito, Ecuador.

Photo: A naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.

A picture of a federally endangered Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) at the Budapest Zoo. This species is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.

A picture of an endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) at the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois.

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

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

A picture of an endangered baby white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) clings to her mother's back at a facility in Florida. At just 70 days old, this captive-born baby was a first in captivity! This species, like many other pangolin species, is illegally taken from the wild. Unfortunately, it is falsely believed that the protective keratin scales have curative properties.

Picture of an endangered six-month-old western red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) named Cinnamon at the Virginia Zoo.

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

Picture of a Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo) at the Plzen Zoo in the Czech Republic.

Joel Sartore News

Spring Sale 2024

Spring is finally upon us, and that means we’re bound to see some new feathered friends, furry neighbors and gardens abuzz with life. With the arrival of the new season comes a breath of fresh air, and our spring print sale! All traditional prints are 25% off, so be sure to use…

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