At a glance

Photographer’s quest: record dying species

Noah certainly had his problems shuttling animals onto the ark two by two.

But he had nothing on Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer who has undertaken a similar task.

Sartore is determined to photograph the rarest of animals from around the world up close and personal before they die out.

For 11 years, Sartore has populated his unique “ark” with salon-worthy photos of these exotic creatures.

On Tuesday, PBS will premiere the results so far: “Rare: Creatures of the Photo Ark.”

“We stand to lose half of all species to extinction by 2100,” Sartore said. “That’s a conservative estimate, because the human populations are on our way to going to 11 billion, and we’re already in pretty tough shape at 7 billion. So we see what

"Rare: Creatures of the Photo Ark" will air at 9 p.m. Tuesday on PBS, including WOSUTV (Channel 34).

could happen if people don’t stop and pay attention.

“So beyond just preserving these things for posterity — whether it’s in 4K video or highresolution stills — we really want people to be moved to the point where they will take action,” he said.

“For most of the species that we’re covering, this is the only chance they’re going to have to have their voices heard, before they go away.”

Most of Sartore’s animal portraits were done in zoos or wildliferehab centers or aquariums, he said. “And to be honest with you, those are the keepers of the kingdom. A lot of these animals don’t exist in the wild anymore.”