Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

In this April 1, 2017 picture a man dressed as a “Harramacho” a traditional character from the Navalacruz carnival poses for a picture before a traditional Spanish mask gathering in the small village of Casavieja, Spain. Every spring they come from towns across central and northwestern Spain, clad in elaborate costumes – some as trees, others as bears, still others as monsters who could have emerged from some sort of fever dream. (Photo by Daniel Ochoa de Olza/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)

Nikolai Vasilyev, 62, dressed as Father Frost, Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, water-skis along the Yenisei River outside Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, December 10, 2015. Vasilyev, a teacher of the Krasnoyarsk Aerospace Academy, constructed the self-made water skis to travel on the water surface. The skis are made of plastic foam and the sticks are designed to propel him forward. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

A Capybara bathes in the hot spring water at the Saitama Children's zoo in Higashi Matsuyama city, Saitama prefecture on December 21, 2014. Seven capybaras in the zoo, originally from South America, enjoyed the hot spring water on the chilly winter day in Japan. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP Photo)

A woman cools off after taking a traditional steam bath (banya) at Sergei Benke's homestead in the village of Bobrovka, Tarsky District in Omsk Region, Russia on December 11, 2020. (Photo by Sergei Malgavko/TASS)

Revellers take part in New Year's Eve celebrations in Kyiv, Ukraine on December 31, 2020. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Afghan men work in a small sweets factory in Kabul, Afghanistan January 5, 2017. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)