PHOENIX, Arizona — Arizona Game & Fish Department announced on April 2, 2025, that award-winning photographer Joel Sartore photographed three non-releasable animal ambassadors at their Wildlife Center in February for the National Geographic Society’s Photo Ark project. The initiative aims to document every species in zoos, aquariums, and wildlife sanctuaries, raising awareness and supporting conservation efforts through education and stunning imagery.
The featured animals include a female gray hawk with a left wing injury, a spotted skunk, and a chuckwalla, all of which will appear in Sartore’s Photo Ark Gallery. The gray hawk, unable to return to the wild due to her injury, was a focal point of the shoot, with behind-the-scenes images shared by Arizona Game & Fish highlighting the process. Sartore’s work, which has documented over 14,000 species since the project began in 2005, uses striking portraits to inspire action—National Geographic reports that Photo Ark has contributed to over 50 conservation projects worldwide.
Arizona’s diverse wildlife, from desert reptiles to raptors, makes it a key focus for such efforts. The Arizona Game & Fish Department’s Wildlife Center, which rehabilitates injured animals, often houses non-releasable ambassadors to educate the public. In 2023, the center cared for over 1,200 animals, per department records, with many, like the gray hawk, becoming symbols of conservation challenges. While the Photo Ark brings global attention, it also underscores local issues—gray hawks, native to the Southwest, face habitat loss, with populations declining 5% annually since 2010, according to the Arizona Bird Conservation Initiative. This project offers a chance to highlight these struggles while celebrating the beauty of Arizona’s wildlife. For more information on the Photo Ark project, please visit: https://bit.ly/2wBnCoR.
