Young South Korean models, with wearable computers, walk the cat walk during the Ubiquitous Fashionable Computer Fashion Show on November 17, 2006 in Goyang, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

A priest sprinkles holy water at a cat at a drive-through pet blessing, ahead of World Animal Day, at a mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 2, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

American rapper Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat performs at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 21, 2021. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A cat wearing a dress is carried around in a transparent rucksack at the annual Pet Expo Thailand 2021 in Bangkok on November 25, 2021. (Photo by Jack Taylor/AFP Photo)

A cat receives acupuncture treatment in Shanghai, China on August 21, 2017. Traditional practitioners believe acupuncture of the body can stimulate blood circulation to promote healing and relieve some aches and pains. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

A woman dressed in a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt holds her cat as she take part in an embroidered shirt parade in central Kiev, Ukraine, May 27, 2017. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

“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)

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)