In August 2021, Joel Sartore of the National Geographic Photo Ark visited the Metro Richmond Zoo to photograph two species missing in the Photo Ark: the African clawless otter and the Canebrake rattlesnake.
A year later, we have received the official portraits, and we are elated to share them with you. While Joel was here, he also photographed Taavi, the then 5-month-old orangutan.
We feel so honored that our Max will be the face of his otter species in the Photo Ark for generations to come.
The Photo Ark is an ambitious 25 year project to photograph every animal species living in the world’s zoological parks, aquariums, and wildlife care centers to promote education and conservation. To date, Joel has photographed 13,000 animal species in 16 years.
See the zoo in the Photo Ark.
Official Portraits
Behind-the-Scenes of the Photoshoot
