Joel Sartore Joel Sartore

National Geographic Photographer and Speaker

Tilcayo:
Bolivian Cat Discovered

Tilcayo's StoryBook Joel To Speak

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.

  • 18,567 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
    Picture of a grizzly bear, Ursus arctos horribilis, at Sedgewick County Zoo.
  • 300 talks given worldwide
  • 2 spitting cobras found in camera gear
    Picture of a red spitting cobra (Naja pallida) at the St. Louis Zoo.

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.

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Recent Talks

  • A six-day-old endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota.
  • A picture of a common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus pipistrellus) at Parque Biologico.
  • A northern mole cricket (Neocurtilla hexadactyla) at Spring Creek Prairie near Denton, Nebraska.
  • Uno, a federally endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) at the Naples Zoo. A gunshot wound caused Uno to go blind in 2014.
  • An ashy gecko (Sphaerodactylus elegans) from a private collection.
  • A picture of a red turban snail (Pomaulax gibberosus) at the Indianapolis Zoo in Indianapolis, Indiana.
  • 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.
  • Picture of a ragworm (Hediste diversicolor) at Gulf Specimen Marine Lab and Aquarium.
  • A picture of a federally endangered Palos Verdes blue butterflies (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis) at the McGuire Center, Gainesville, Florida.

    • 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 kaiser spotted newt (Neurergus kaiseri) from a private collection in Tennessee. This species is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
  • A vulnerable sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) tentatively steps onto the white background at the Sunset Zoo.
  • A picture of a copper-headed trinket snake, Coelognathus radiatus, at the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati, Assam, India
  • A picture of a blue-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis similis) at ZooTampa at Lowry Park in Tampa, Florida.
  • Portraits of 'Orange', the last dusky seaside sparrow (Ammospiza maritima nigrescens).
  • A picture of a female common spotted cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus) at a private collection in Jakarta, Indonesia. This animal is under the care of PT. Alam Nusantara Jayatama.
  • A picture of a group of Cape vultures (Gyps coprotheres) named Kruger, Motswari and Timbavati at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This species is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.
  • A picture of a critically endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered Northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) named Nabire was one of the last three northern white rhinos left on Earth. She died on Monday, July 27, 2015, just one week after this photo was taken at the Dvur Kralove Zoo. This species is critically endangered, and heading towards extinction.
  • Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) at the Miller Park Zoo.
  • A picture of two endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana roxellana) at Ocean Park in Hong Kong.
  • A picture of a Visayan leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis rabori) at the Avilon Zoo in Manila, Philippines.
  • Picture of a bateleur eagle (Terathopius ecaudatus) at the LA Zoo.
  • A picture of a black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi petersi) named Beast at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Nebraska.
  • A picture of a male endangered (IUCN) and federally endangered white Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) named Rajah at Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.
  • A picture of a federally endangered marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata) at Zoo Taiping.
  • A small Indian civet (Viverricula indica baptistae) at the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden in Assam, India.

Joel Sartore News

Newly Described Cat Species Boards the Photo Ark

This new-to-science Tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo) was photographed at Senda Verde Animal Refuge in Coroico, Bolivia. In the wild, this tiny cat lives in the Yungas forests of Bolivia, a unique habitat increasingly threatened by mining and deforestation. Smaller than a domestic cat, the Tilcayo was one of the many secrets waiting to be discovered in…

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