Robot inventor Wu Yulu sits on a rickshaw driven by a robot which he invented in his village in rural Beijing's Tongzhou district, China, 17 November 2016. The 54-year-old Chinese farmer living in rural Beijing's Tongzhou district invented 63 robots in the past 30 years. Wu, who only received primary school education, plans to give up the agricultural work for his robot products. He regularly participates in exhibitions, transfers patent rights and teaches at the university to earn money. (Photo by Wu Hong/EPA)

Meet the real beach babes: the herd of pigs that live a life of luxury paddling in the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas, on August 28, 2013. (Photo by Caters News)

The jewelled flower mantis, commonly found in Asia, is believed to be the inspiration for many martial artists is seen in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 2, 2016. (Photo by Prabu Dennaga/Barcroft Images)

A Palestinian girl watches from the balcony of her house as Israeli soldiers conduct a security operation in the village of Aqraba, east of Nablus in the occupied-West Bank, on May 3, 2021. Suspected Palestinian gunmen carried out a drive-by shooting at a nearby junction the previous, leaving three Israeli civilians wounded, one of them in critical condition, with a manhunt underway. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP Photo)

Igor, a 40 year-old Ukranian soldier embraces his wife in front of his military basement in the center of Odessa on March 17, 2022. Odessa, which Ukraine fears could be the next target of Russia's offensive in the south, is the country's main port and is vital for its economy. But the city of one million people close to the Romanian and Moldovan borders also holds a special place in the Russian imagination. (Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo)

A Chinese woman poses for a photo in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic that was created with other floral decorations in advance of the country's national holidays, also known as Golden week on September 28, 2020 in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st.(Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Girls talk outside the Niavaran Palace in northern Tehran, capital of Iran, March 26, 2024. People visited the Niavaran Palace during the new year vacation of Nowruz, which falls on March 20 this year. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)