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National Geographic Photo Ark captures Boise animals

Joel Sartore, known for his work for National Geographic, spent time in Boise this week to take photos for his project called National Geographic Photo Ark to bring awareness to conservation efforts.

BOISE - The Egyptian Theatre in downtown Boise was packed on Tuesday night as Zoo Boise continued to spread its message about conservation.

Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer, author, speaker and conservationist, made his way to the zoo this week for a special project that he put on display at the Egyptian Theatre.

After working for National Geographic for several years, traveling the globe capturing a wide range of animals, he founded the National Geographic Photo Ark, which is a photo archive of global biodiversity.

The photos he takes look a lot different than the ones you typically see. These are taken at zoos, aquariums, wildlife sanctuaries, and Sartore says they use the white or black background so you can take the distractions away and feel how important this animal is.

Sartore is hoping that through Photo Ark, those in the audience on Tuesday take away an important message.

"To get people into the tent of conservation and get them to learn there's great value in saving nature not just morally, but for our survival," Sartore said. "Half of our species are scheduled to go extinct within the next 100 years if not sooner. Not if I can help it."

So far Sartore has completed the portraits of more than 7,500 species and visited 40 countries in his journey to create this gallery.

You can learn more about how to get involved here.

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