The Natural Sciences Museum of Madrid inaugurates Photo Ark, an exhibition that invites reflection on the conservation of species

The National Geographic photographer, Joel Sartore, has highlighted the important task that zoos carry out nowadays in the preservation of biodiversity and their total collaboration in this work.

This project, developed by National Geographic and photographer Joel Sartore, portrays species from all over the world with the aim of raising awareness about the threats they face and the importance of saving them before it is too late for the planet. Zoo Aquarium de Madrid and Faunia have collaborated in this important graphic work portraying endangered species with which they work for their conservation in the zoological parks, such as the Iberian lynx, the Spanish imperial eagle or the American Manatee.

The beginning of these animal photographs for posterity began in the wake of the illness of a relative when Joel Sartore thought about how ephemeral life is and the importance of transmitting a legacy and a message to future generations in order to become aware of it and act to stop the loss of biodiversity. Since then, he has been photographing more than 8.000 threatened or endangered species throughout the world for 13 years, and according to Sartore, "15 years still remain to finish Photo Ark".

All pictures are taken in zoos and breeding centers around the world and in Spain, they have been taken in Zoo Aquarium de Madrid and Faunia and the breeding center of the Iberian lynx of Granadilla.

At the inauguration of the exhibition at the MNCN, attended by more than a hundred people, Sartore thanked his Spanish collaborators for their support: "Zoos are centers to which everybody should go and they play a very important role in the conservation of threatened species. Without them, this work would never have been possible."

In the exhibition, which can be visited till January 5th, 2019, there are 3 autochthonous species’ pictures taken in Zoo de Madrid: iberian wild goat, Spanish imperial eagle, iberian lynx.

More information: http://www.mncn.csic.es/docs/repositorio//es_ES//Noticias/2018/20_septiembre_2018_national_geographic.pdf