Building a Photo Ark

Alan Taylor
March 17, 2016
15 Photos
In Focus

National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore has spent the past ten years working on a massive project to document the world’s biodiversity, called the Photo Ark. The April issue of National Geographic magazine features Sartore’s portraits. Over the past decade, he has photographed more than 5,600 animals and says he won’t stop until he’s documented every one of the estimated 12,000 birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates in captivity. National Geographic has been kind enough to share a handful of these portraits with us, and they invite readers to take their online quiz: What Animal Is Most Like You?

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Fennec Fox, Saint Louis Zoo. The smallest foxes in the world have enormous ears to cool them down as they traverse sand dunes in the Sahara, where they are common. Their cuteness makes them attractive to the wild-pet trade. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Schmidt's red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) at the Houston Zoo. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Blue-spotted tree monitor (Varanus macraei) at the Gladys Porter Zoo, Texas. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Curl-crested aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaesii) at the Dallas World Aquarium. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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A green tree python (Morelia viridis) at the Riverside Discovery Center, Nebraska. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Northern White Rhinoceros, Dvůr Králové Zoo, Czech Republic. This female named Nabiré was one of the last of her subspecies. She died last summer, a week after this photograph was taken. A few months later another northern white rhino died, leaving only three. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Giant stag beetle (Dorcus titanus) at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, Louisiana. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Guianan cock of the rock (Rupicola rupicola) at the Dallas World Aquarium. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Four-toed hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) at the Sedgwick County Zoo, Kansas. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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Black-and-rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi) at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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African White-Bellied Tree Pangolin. A baby hitches a ride on its mother at Pangolin Conservation, a nonprofit organization in St. Augustine, Florida. The mammals are illegally killed for bush meat and their scales, which are claimed to have medical value. #

© Joel Sartore / National Geographic

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