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Joel Sartore's quest to photograph all the animal species under human care celebrates its 15th year with this glorious and heartwrenching collection of photographs. The animals featured in these pages are either destined for extinction or already extinct in the wild but still alive today, thanks to dedication of a heroic group committed to their continued survival. From the majestic Sumatran rhinoceros to the tiny Salt Creek tiger beetle, Sartore's photographs bring us eye to eye with the kaleidoscopic diversity of shapes, colors, personalities, and attitudes of the animal world. In these vivid pages, Sartore singles out the species most likely to disappear in the next decades, as well as some that have already been lost. Alongside these indelible images are the words of scientists and conservationists who are working to protect and restore populations of endangered species. With Sartore's distinctive portrait photography, he invites us to look closer--and to care more. --Publisher.… (more)
User reviews
Mr. Sartore takes such evocative photos. Even this spider hater could marvel at a two page, oversized arachnid. It almost seems from the looks in the eyes of some of the animals that they knew their fate. It is almost overwhelming to page through at times when you stop to consider the book’s purpose but I think it’s something we really must do as it’s man’s fault that these animals are losing their habitat.
It’s a powerful book with a very powerful message. I keep picking it up to marvel at the photography and celebrate the people who have kept some species alive through dedicated efforts in sanctuaries and preserves. There is also a profound sense of loss for those animals that will never be seen again.
From the foreword, where Elizabeth Kolbert states that E.O. Wilson has dubbed this era the Eremozoic, the age of lonliness, I knew that this would be a difficult book to look at. Joel Sartore's introduction, where he recalls photographing Nabire, one of the last northern white rhinoceros' and then later visiting her body, echoes this sentiment. The biodiversity of Earth's fauna graces the pages: snails, corals, fish, frog, lizard, deer, tigers and the chimpanzee's that share 99% of our DNA, showing that the environmental impact of human actions does not discriminate. A few lines of text accompany each photo and state the animal name, classification level through the International Union of Conservation, the amount of the species that are left and what actions have led to their decrease. These few lines serve as a powerful reminder of how small actions we complete everyday impact other animals. Beautifully done, this book will spark viewers into action to save the animals that grace the pages.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.