The Biodiversity Project
All photos by Joel Sartore, buy them here* and support the project.
Silkie Chicken's plummage feels like silk. This friendly breed also has dark blue flesh and bones, blue earlobes and five toes on each foot (most chickens only have four). They can be red, buff, blue, black, white or partridge colored. First reference to the breed is by Marco Polo, during his travels in Asia, in the 13th century.
Silkie Chickens.
The Biodiversity Project's message: to show who and what’s at stake in terms of
species loss and to get people to care while there’s still time. Joel Sartore is trying to photograph as many endangered species as possible using a portable studio with black and white backgrounds, in zoos, in private collections and in the field.
Mole Rats (Damaraland mole rats - Cryptomys damarensis)
Joel started on the project five years back after reading an essay on amphibian decline. He realized he needed to show these threatened species to the world before they were gone forever. Some of these species no longer exist in the wild, so once the individuals in the zoos die, the species will no longer be with us.
Puffin - Those eyes!
Some support for the project is being provided by National Geographic and their Field Test blog.* Joel says the zoos and rescue facilities he has worked at have all been incredibly generous with their time. But, one of the most important sources for funding is individuals who purchase prints. Buy a print here: www.joelsartore.com
Spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata). That look!
Joel is bringing us face-to-face with endangered species, where you are forced to confront exactly who we are pushing off this planet.
Snowy Owl
Giant AntEater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)
Two-toed sloth: Lincoln Children’s Zoo
Okapai - A male okapi (Okapia johnstoni)
Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is the largest canid of South America, resembling a large fox with reddish fur. It is sometimes referred to as a 'red fox on stilts' though it is much larger and heavier than a fox (45 to 75 pounds). Fifty percent of the maned wolf's diet is vegetarian.
Opposum Family (Didelphis virginiana) 
Hawk headed parrot.
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) also known as Leadbeater's cockatoo or pink cockatoo.
Young Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Joel states that "The clean background allows the viewer to look every species in the eye, the window to the soul. I hope these portraits will connect with viewers and get them to understand that all creatures have at least a consciousness as well as a basic right to exist."
Genet (A Rusty-spotted genet or Central African large-spotted genet (Genetta maculata))
Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs, all are classified as endangered or vulnerable.
Tree Kangaroo
Spotted Hyenas
Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
Resingers Tree Monitor
Scientists estimate that at least 100 species go extinct each day. You never know what might be next.
For many of Earth’s creatures, time is running out. Half of the world’s plant and animal species will soon be threatened with extinction. The goal of the Biodiversity Project is to show what’s at stake, and to get people to care, while there’s still time to save them. More than 1,800 species have been photographed to date, with more to come.
Print prices start at $40. To buy any of Joel Sartore's signed archival prints, which help him fund more shoots, visit: www.joelsartore.com
Follow Joel’s progress on National Geographic’s Field Test blog...ngm.nationalgeographic.com
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the photographer set up to get the shots...
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