This handout photo taken on February 12, 2017 and released on February 16 by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) shows Mongolian herder Munkhbat Bazarragchaa (C) dragging two sheep – which recently died due to the weather - to a pile of dead animals behind his “ger” in Khuvsgul province, northern Mongolia. Thousands of Mongolian herders face disastrous livestock losses from dreaded severe weather known as the “dzud”, the Red Cross said on February 16, 2017 in launching an international emergency aid appeal. (Photo by Mirva Helenius/AFP Photo/IFRC)

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)

A curious cat ipeeks out of a bag carried by its owner on a tour of the Cat Expo 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 30 September 2022. The “Ekspo Kucing”, described as Malaysia's Largest Cat Expo runs from 30 September to 02 October 2022 at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) in Kuala Lumpur and “will also feature other variety of pets such as rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, reptiles and exotic animals”, the MECC said on its website, along with other highlight events such as a Federation Internationale Feline (FIFe) Cat Competition, Cat Adoptions or a “Sugar Glinder Contest”. (Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Macaque monkeys crowd together in their cage at a monkey farm on February 3, 2016 in Xinye county, Henan province, China. The area boasts a centuries-long and lucrative history of raising and training monkeys for performance. In Xinye, villagers are seeing an increase in business with the lunar calendar's “Year of the Monkey”. Farmers say most of the monkeys are bred and raised for domestic zoos, circuses, and performing groups, but add that some are also sold for medical research in China and the United States. Despite the popularity of the tradition, critics contend the training methods and conditions constitute animal cruelty. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

“Ary Borges and his family live in southern Brazil like most families the Borges' love animals and have an array of cats living in their home. The only difference between the cats owned by the Borges family and the cat that is cuddled up on your lap as you read this is the Borges' cats weigh over 700 pounds and could kill you just as soon as look at you. The Borges family shares their home with nine tigers, two lionesses, a chimp and a Chihuahua”. – Amanda Schiavo via Latin Times. Photo: The Borges' family pet dog, Little, is placed on the back of Tom, their tiger, for a photo to be taken, in Maringa, Brazil, Friday, September 27, 2013. (Photo by Renata Brito/AP Photo)

Galapagos – Rocking the Cradle: Four major ocean currents converge along the Galapagos archipelago, creating the conditions for an extraordinary diversity of animal life, April 25, 2016. The islands are home to at least 7,000 flora and fauna species, of which 97 percent of the reptiles, 80 percent of the land birds, 50 percent of the insects and 30 percent of the plants are endemic. (Photo by Thomas P. Peschak for National Geographic/World Press Photo)

A boy sits on the back of a crocodile on May 19, 2018 at a pond in Bazoule in Burkina Faso, a village which happily shares its local pond with “sacred” crocodiles. Crocodiles may be one of the deadliest hunters in the animal kingdom, but in a small village in Burkina Faso it is not unusual to see someone sitting atop one of the fearsome reptiles. According to local legend, the startling relationship with the predators dates back to at least the 15 th century. The village was in the grip of an agonising drought until the crocodiles led women to a hidden pond where the population could slake their thirst. (Photo by Olympia de Maismont/AFP Photo)