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 teller at a money changer handles Indonesia rupiah bank notes in Jakarta, Indonesia November 11, 2016. (Photo by Darren Whiteside/Reuters)

A dog Prince Dudeman stands on the head of Ryan Thor in the annual Surf City Surf Dog event, at Dog Beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Saturday, September 25, 2021. (Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Photo)

Nepalese police officers worship a dog during the dog festival as part of Tihar celebrations, also called Diwali, at the Central Police Dog Training School in Kathmandu, Nepal October 29, 2016. Dogs are worshipped to acknowledge their role in providing security during Tihar festival, one of the most important Hindu festivals that is also dedicated to the worship of the goddess of wealth Laxmi. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A dog relaxes in an oxygen capsule “DOGS O2” at the Ownd Cafe on September 13, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. The capsules come in a variety of sizes available for both dogs and cats for relaxation purposes. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

A “Free Syrian Army” fighter in the Bustan Pasha neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, August 21, 2013. (Photo by James Lawler Duggan)

A dog trainer works with a previously abandoned dog at a police centre in Saltillo, Mexico March 4, 2016. Stray dogs are adopted by the police from a municipal anti-rabies centre and then trained to help the police patrol the streets, and search for drugs, explosives and weapons. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

A Herero man holds the head of a freshly butchered cow, killed to supply meat for a funeral, 2012. (Photo by Jim Naughten, courtesy of Klompching Gallery, New York)