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Q&A: National Geographic explorer Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark comes to Charleston.CHARLESTON — Joel Sartore has spent decades witnessing Earth’s natural wonders through a camera lens.As a National Geographic photographer, Sartore has crisscrossed the planet in search of its most majestic creatures.Out of all of his experiences, one stands out as the most impactful.“ I got bat poop in my eye in a cave in Uganda,” Sartore said.As if that wasn’t rough enough, the cave’s bats were infected with Marburg virus, which has a fatality rate of around 50 percent.“So I had to medevac home,” Sartore recalled.“I had to sit in an empty room in our attic for three weeks wondering if I was gonna die, and taking my temperature over and over again to see if I was getting a fever.” For the past 20 years, Sartore’s primary mission has been National Geographic’s Photo Ark.His end goal is to document 25,000 species living in the world’s zoos, aquariums and wildlife sanctuaries.With nearly 18,000 species photographed so far, he’s more than halfway there.Sartore’s work comes at a pivotal time for Earth’s wildlife.One 2019 report from the United Nations estimated that about 1 million species could go extinct over the next few decades.The Center for Biological Diversity reports that humans are driving about three species per hour to extinction, a trend the nonprofit calls "a crisis unparalleled in human history." The Post and Courier had a chance to chat with Sartore after he gave the keynote address at the South Carolina Aquarium’s annual fundraising gala on May 16.Though he only had about 10 minutes to spare — he was scheduled to fly to Colombia early the next morning to add a few more South American species to the Ark.This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.What species are you adding to the Ark on your visit to South Carolina?Here at the Aquarium, I did the robust red horse, which is a super rare fish that the Aquarium helped to bring back from the cusp of extinction.And then we did coastal shiner, common octopus, a herring species, a blue-eyed horseshoe cra, and five or six others.So about a dozen species total.Things I couldn't find anywhere else on the planet were here, so it was a big deal.You’ve been doing this for about 20 years now.What’s the value of the Photo Ark project?I don’t know what the value is.I won't know 'till after I'm dead, maybe.It's kind of a race to see whether or not people rise up in time to save — just insects (for example).We have to have them or we can't live ourselves.For me, I constantly think about this quote from T.S.Eliot: "For us, there's only the trying.The rest is not our business." And so we try all we can while we're alive, and then what happens after us?It's not our concern.We won't be around.But it will be a concern for whoever's left.And really, in a beautiful place like this, you would think that everybody would really care about the quality of the ocean here, and about what's happening to the sea level.As The Post and Courier’s environment reporter, I talk with a lot of biologists.They often push back against the idea of “anthropomorphism” — imbuing human qualities into animals.But your work really seems to embrace that, reflecting the humanity in wildlife.What's the value in that?If we don't get people to pay attention, it's over with, right?I'm a little bit like a pilot with both engines on fire.I'm just looking for any way I can to get to the runway, with the target being: Are we gonna save nature?Are we gonna save ourselves in the process?The Photo Ark is a little bit of a — I don't know, how would you say it?— it's a little bit of a ruse.Yes, we want people to care about nature, but if we can get people in the tent of conservation and realize the benefits for all humans, that's really a big part of it.It's a lot bigger than just a portrait of a bear or a portrait of a wolf.It's designed to get people thinking about the world we live in, how amazing it is, how it's still intact.And there's time to save it, but that won't last forever.That window will close on us.On the subject of that closing window; how have you seen these conversations about conservation change in the last 20 years, particularly in light of the broader discourse about climate change and sea-level rise?Well, you see it happening, right?It's basically quit raining in Nebraska (Sartore’s home state).For years we haven't had enough rain.The oceans are coming up and starting to inundate your wells, I imagine, with salt water.How much worse does it need to get before people will start demanding cleaner fuels, sustainable energy, people not voting against their own self-interests?How much worse does it have to get before people get together and start agreeing on things to make the world better?We're in the midst of a staggering loss of biodiversity.Do you ever find yourself faced with despair over that loss?And how do you cope with it?I never get down.No, because I work with people like (those) here at the South Carolina Aquarium today.They're all jazzed and they're giving their whole lives to it.With all these other people going full speed to try to save species, there's no way I can just be down about it.Every animal matters.Every plant matters.And we really should wake up and care.I don't know whether what I'm doing will have a big effect.I think it'll have some effect, and some's OK.