Charles and Jon talk to Joel Sartore, founder of NatGeo's Photo Ark project and one of the world's most preeminent wildlife photographers.

Joel describes his passion for conservation, a passion inspired by parents who cared and a childhood spent in nature. 

He outlines his career, which took him from a cub photographer with the Wichita Eagle, to National Geographic where he now runs the Photo Ark and has photographed more than 18,000 species in human care. 

Joel explains his photographic techniques and the influence of the artist John James Audubon. 

And he offers hope for the future, despite the extinction crisis we are facing, talking about how zoos and ecotourism are helping to save nature. Meanwhile Joel frightens Jon at the prospects of life "in the chocolate factory".

Notes:  You can follow Joel on Instagram, along with almost 2 million other people. There are many articles and videos about Joel online, including this PBS show Rare: Creatures of the Photo Ark about his work.

Here's the article about the Banteng recovery in Thailand which Charles discusses at the beginning of the episode. You can find many Thailand trip reports here.

If you would like to submit you own notes from the field then please get in touch with Jon at [email protected]

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Cover art: Portrait of Joel Sartore, 2021, by Ellen Sartore.

Dr Charles Foley is a mammalwatcher and biologist who, together with his wife Lara, spent 30 years studying elephants in Tanzania. They now run the Tanzania Conservation Research Program at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

Jon Hall set up mammalwatching.com in 2005. Genetically Welsh, spiritually Australian, currently in New York City. He has looked for mammals in almost 120 countries.