Freshmen in Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry Management head bottles of mineral water for upright stand during military training on September 17, 2015 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China. More than 6,800 freshmen in the school are required to take part in the military training. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

A villager carries wood while a blackbuck runs on a field near Bhetnoi village in Ganjam District, in the Indian eastearn state of Odisha on May 20, 2018. Villagers of Ganjam district due to their traditional religious belief consider blackbucks as incarnations of Lord Vishnu and harbingers of rain. (Photo by Asit Kumar/AFP Photo)

Men push a car stucking in the mud on a motorway in Nimba County, Liberia, 28 July 2019. Most highway roads in the rural parts of the country are unpaved. The government of President George Weah has promised to build roads to connect all big cites of Liberia. (Photo by Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA/EFE)

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 street performer dressed up as a waiter performs for at Marques de Larios street in downtown Malaga, Spain, July 4, 2016. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

In this photograph taken on August 25, 2016, an Afghan shepherd watches over his sheep as they graze on the outskirts of Herat. (Photo by Aref Karimi/AFP Photo)

An Afghan boy covers himself with a plastic sheet as he rides on a donkey after rains in Argo district of Badakhshan province on March 20, 2023. (Photo by Omer Abrar/AFP Photo)

Waitresses wearing protective masks, face-shields and gloves to prevent infections following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, gesture to customers toasting glasses at the cheerleader-themed restaurant “Cheers One” in Tokyo, Japan on May 11, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)