Stunning pictures of animals at Bristol Zoo Gardens

These amazing pictures were taken at Bristol Zoo Gardens by international wildlife photographer Joel Sartore.

Image: Joel-Sartore prepares for another stunning shot at Bristol Zoo Gardens.

He came to Bristol as part of a global quest to encourage conservation by picturing every animal species in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.

Joel took photos of a chappa bug-eyed frog and a spiny-tail lizard, both of which are near threatened, and a prehensile-tailed skink. They can all be seen in the Reptile House at Bristol Zoo Gardens.

He began his photographic project 18 years ago, and apart from the restrictions imposed by Covid, has travelled the world and photographed almost 12,000 species.

Joel, 59, said: “It will probably take me another 10 years to complete. Often we are taking pictures of the last individual of a species.”

Every picture he takes is a vital record of a particular species, which is why he calls the project The Photo Ark.

The long-time contributor to National Geographic, who has 1.5 million followers on Instagram, said: “These pictures are being looked at by people on social media and that way the conservation message is getting across.”

Each photo was taken using a Nikon D850 camera with a macro lens against a black and then a white background and lit with four flash lights to bring out the detail and vivid colours of every animal.

Bristol Zoological Society, which owns and runs Bristol Zoo Gardens and Wild Place Project, is involved in 14 field conservation projects in 10 countries across the world helping to safeguard the future of endangered species.

The new Bristol Zoo, a world-class zoo with conservation at its heart, will open at Bristol Zoological Society’s Wild Place Project site in 2024. It will ensure future generations of people can come face-to-face with animals in natural surroundings.

All of Joel’s photos can be seen at www.joelsartore.com/gallery/the-photo-ark/.