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 man dressed as Santa Claus skateboards down Fifth Avenue towing a dog before the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York on December 5, 2019. (Photo by John Angelillo/UPI/Barcroft Media)

Awkwafina poses in the press room with the award for best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy for “The Farewell” at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, January 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Syrian dancer and choreographer Yara al-Hasbani performs a dance on the empty Trocadero square in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris on April 22, 2020, on the 37th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP Photo)

Clarice Hui and her Corgi dog Padfoot enjoying the hot weather in London Fields park, east London on May 19, 2020, after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)

Team GB Rhythmic Gymnast Lynne Karina Hutchison during a training session on the seafront in Hove, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Hove, Britain, June 10, 2020. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

Yan Anyu or Miss Cream rides in a taxi in Shanghai on June 13, 2020, as she makes her way to a bar in the city of Shanghai to make her first presentation as a drag queen. Attitudes toward alternative lifestyles are slowly softening in China, and members of a small but growing drag community have begun to step into the spotlight. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

Parade goers draped in American flags walk down the street before a Fourth of July parade begins Saturday, July 4, 2020, in Bristol, R.I. The town, which lays claim to the nation's oldest Independence Day celebration in the country, held a vehicle-only scaled down version of its annual parade Saturday due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by David Goldman/AP Photo)