This BTS video is a zoo: Photographing 12,000 species for National Geographic is no easy task

Photo shoots are stressful enough when you’re dealing with even a handful of human subjects. Could you imagine if you had to shoot over 12,000 animals?

Well, this endeavor is a reality for photographer Joel Sartore, who was commissioned by National Geographic to capture Photo Ark, a series of portraits that show off the world’s 12,000 captive species before they disappear.

In this two minute video, we get a time-lapse look at just a small portion of the chaos that takes place to capture these incredible creatures.

From turtles pooping on his seamless to chimps quite literally ripping it off the wall, Sartore’s shoots were about as wild as they come.

Below are a few photo photos from the Photo Ark project that Sartore has shared on his Instagram profile:

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Nabire this week, one of just five northern white rhinos left on the planet. I had the great honor of photographing her recently at the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic. She was sweet, gentle & a great photo subject. She will be deeply missed. #photooftheday #beautiful #czech #joelsartore #endangered #rhino

A photo posted by Joel Sartore – Photo Ark (@joelsartore) on Jul 31, 2015 at 8:37pm PDT

A Syrian brown #bear at the #Budapest Zoo. #joelsartore #beautiful #photooftheday #photoark

A photo posted by Joel Sartore – Photo Ark (@joelsartore) on Aug 10, 2015 at 6:19pm PDT

A little #owl from the #Budapest Zoo. #joelsartore #beautiful #photooftheday #photoark

A photo posted by Joel Sartore – Photo Ark (@joelsartore) on Aug 8, 2015 at 7:54pm PDT

A Cape fox at the Plzen Zoo in the Czech Republic. #joelsartore #photooftheday #beautiful #bird #photoark

A photo posted by Joel Sartore – Photo Ark (@joelsartore) on Aug 22, 2015 at 5:25pm PDT

A #Florida panther named Lucy at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. #joelsartore #photooftheday #PhotoArk

A photo posted by Joel Sartore – Photo Ark (@joelsartore) on Aug 28, 2015 at 5:16pm PDT

A federally #endangered lesser long-nosed #bat at the @fortworthzoo. Southwestern #wildlife like this bat received some exciting news this week! Thanks to a case brought against the project by @defendersofwildlife and @patagonia_alliance, a judge halted the “Sunnyside” drilling project in the Patagonia Mountains. This region has some of the greatest biodiversity in the entire country, and the impact of drilling and mining projects could be devastating. It’s great that we have groups like these fighting the good fight to keep them safe. #joelsartore #photoark

A photo posted by Joel Sartore – Photo Ark (@joelsartore) on Sep 22, 2015 at 6:18pm PDT

A South China #tiger at the Suzhou Zoo in #China. This subspecies of tiger, which is critically endangered and possibly extinct in the wild, is part of the captive breeding program being run by the zoo. This photo is part of the WGBH/PBS Documentary series #RARE, targeted to air in Spring 2017. #PhotoArk #joelsartore #photoark #beautiful

A photo posted by Joel Sartore – Photo Ark (@joelsartore) on Nov 28, 2015 at 6:21pm PST

[via Reddit]