A South Dakota wildlife photographer says his latest assignment for National Geographic took him to southern Mongolia to capture images of an elusive bear.

The magazine will publish Joe Riis” first full feature next year. Riis photographed the Gobi bear, as well as the researchers trying to follow the movement of the rare creature.

 The Pierre native says the assignment was one of the largest expeditions he had experienced. The 20-person crew had to travel to the remote Gobi Desert, the fifth-largest desert in the world.

More than 200 people gathered at the Riggs Theatre Sunday to listen to Riis talk about his work. He currently lives in a cabin he built in the Bijou Hills in central South Dakota.
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS