{
  "id": 3986873,
  "title": "As Photo Ark turns 20, Joel Sartore photographs 18,000 animal species",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/as-photo-ark-turns-20-joel-sartore-photographs-18-000-animal-species",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-28T15:16:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/as-the-photo-ark-turns-20-joel-sartore-photographs-18000-animal-species/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For the past two decades, Joel Sartore has dedicated his efforts to photographing every animal species kept in human care, with an ambitious goal of exceeding 18,000 images. This year, on the 20th anniversary of the Photo Ark project, Sartore managed to capture the 18,000th animal during a visit to Australia, identifying it as the critically endangered red handfish (Thymichthys politus), a small, red fish with a somewhat grumpy appearance. When Mongabay inquired about the most recent animal Sartore photographed a few days after the official anniversary, he became particularly enthusiastic about a small moth found on his porch in Nebraska, which he was still awaiting identification from moth experts. Joel Sartore, the National Geographic photographer and founder of the Photo Ark, is known for his dedication to capturing animals wherever they are found, including zoos, aquariums, pet shops, bioblitzes, streams sampled by the Tennessee Valley Authority, and even caves in Kenya. His approach is marked by a Midwestern-friendly, practical, and optimistic demeanor, always eager to work whenever the opportunity arises to document the incredible diversity of the animal kingdom.",
  "summary": "For 20 years, Joel Sartore has been on a quest: to photograph every animal species in human care, and then some. This year, on the 20th anniversary of the Photo Ark somewhere in Australia, Sartore photographed the project’s 18,000th animal. He’s not totally sure which one pushed the project over the threshold, but gives it […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}