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)

Fighting Infections (single image) | Fighting Pandemic by Sudipto Das. “It’s exhausting. A tram conductor in Kolkata, India, wears protective clothing from head to toe even in the heat of a summer afternoon. This was when restrictions were easing after India’s first Covid-19 lockdown – public transport was running, but staff were advised to suit up like this. We’ve all grown used to saluting the efforts of healthcare workers, but plenty of other people in public-facing jobs have performed gruelling duties too to keep people safe”. (Photo by Sudipto Das/Wellcome Photography Prize 2021)

A Filipino woman wears a mask to try and protect against the spread of coronavirus in Malate district, Manila City on March 24, 2020. The Philippines has taken drastic measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. The entire country is under strict quarantine and the army is on the streets to monitor compliance. According to official figures, there are 462 positive cases and 33 dead in the Philippines, but it is thought that thousands of cases remain undetected due to lack of resources in a country where millions of people have no access to health care. In the poorest and most crowded areas, it’s almost impossible to adhere to the physical distancing required during quarantine. (Photo by Alejandro Ernesto/The Guardian)

Mayu adjusts Koiku’s kimono, as Koiku wears a protective face mask while posing for a photograph, before they work at a party where they will entertain with other geisha at Japanese luxury restaurant Asada in Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

An employee in protective gears sprays disinfectant at the main exhibition tank at the Sea World at Jaya Ancol Dream Park as it is closed for public in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Indonesia's capital city announced a lockdown of all tourist destinations and entertainment spots as well as the closing all of its public schools for the next 14 days amid the global outbreak. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/AP Photo)

A young bull flees from a Brazilian vaqueiro, or cowboy, competing in the “Pega de Boi” (Ox Catch) tournament in Cabrobo, Pernambuco State, Brazil, on September 4, 2022. The riders compete in pairs to retrieve a cord from a bull which has been released and runs away from them and they are timed on how quickly they can return with the cord. The leather clothing provides them with protection from the dense savannah vegetation which contains a lot of large thorns. Riders have been known to die competing in the tournament (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

Volunteers care for burned sheeps in a field hospital established by HAYTAP (The Federation of the Animals Rights in Turkey) for animals after a wildfire at the Manavgat district of Antalya, Turkey, 09 August 2021. It is not known how many wild animals living in the forest died in the fires, but about 33,000 farm animals perished. About 30 veterinarians and hundreds of volunteers work around the clock at the field hospital. Sheep, covered in mosquito nets to protect their wounds from flies, lay there in the shade trying to recover, and various animals such as cats, dogs, owls, and cows have been treated or are still being treated there. (Photo by Erdem Sahin/EPA/EFE)

Yan Mengjie sits on a boat as she poses for photos near Erhai Lake in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China on June 16, 2019. Erhai is one of China's biggest freshwater lakes and a backdrop to the city of Dali, which drew 47 million visitors last year, more than triple the number in 2010. Hotels and homestays have sprung up along a 31-mile (50-km) stretch of lakeside road to accommodate tourists. But officials ordered some hotels demolished after President Xi Jinping during a 2015 visit called for the lake to be protected. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)