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)

Mulan Jamilah, a 6-year-old Bengal tiger and Abdullah Sholeh, 33, play in the garden beside their home on January 20, 2014 in Malang, Indonesia. Abdullah Sholeh of Malang, Indonesia is an Islamic student who has become best friend and a full-time nanny to the tiger.

A Black and Tan Coonhound named Harbor has the longest ears of any living dog, with measurements of 12.25 (31,12 cm) inches for the left ear and 13.5 (34,29 cm) inches for the right. (Photo by Ryan Schude/Guinness World Records via AP)

A man walks through the morning mist in a park in Rozzano, near Milan, northern Italy, Thursday, December 17, 2015. (Photo by Antonio Calanni/AP Photo)

A supercell thunderstorm develops, May 8, 2017 in Elbert County outside of Limon, Colorado. With funding from the National Science Foundation and other government grants, scientists and meteorologists from the Center for Severe Weather Research try to get close to supercell storms and tornadoes trying to better understand tornado structure and strength, how low-level winds affect and damage buildings, and to learn more about tornado formation and prediction. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A woman stands on the footbridge over the river Garry near Pitlochry, Scotland, Britain on October 10, 2018. (Photo by Russell Cheyne/Reuters)

Capturing this picture of lightning striking near Blackpool Tower has earned Stephen Cheatley the UK Weather Photographer of the Year award 2018. (Photo by Stephen Cheatley/Bav Media)