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 couple who did not give their names walk in downtown Havana, February 2, 2015. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

A tomtit bird flies past a squirrel running on a fence after a snowfall in a park in Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 12, 2016. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

Passengers travel in an overcrowded train in the eastern Indian city of Patna, February 23, 2010. (Photo by Krishna Murari Kishan/Reuters)

Models wait backstage during Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kiev, March 17, 2016. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

A bakery worker rides a bicycle as he carries fresh bread on his head in Cairo, Egypt, February 9, 2016. (Photo by Asmaa Waguih/Reuters)

Cocoa pods are seen on the ground at a farm in Ile-Oluji village in Ondo state, southwest Nigeria March 29, 2016. (Photo by Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters)

A subway worker walks away after a train departed the station in central Pyongyang, North Korea May 7, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)