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)

Former Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin performs a flip while throwing the ceremonial first pitch during a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

A girl paddles on her stand-up board on the waters of Guanabara bay at Bica beach in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, January 10, 2016. Few features capture the beauty, or the problems, of one of the world's most dramatic urban landscapes like Guanabara Bay - the finger-like inlet that forms the shoreline and harbor for Rio de Janeiro. The bay, which carves into southeast Brazil from the Atlantic Ocean, literally gave Rio its name when Portuguese mariners mistook it for a “rio”, or “river”. Four centuries later, the bay is preparing to welcome another sort of seafarer – Olympic sailors, who will navigate the bay when the 2016 Rio Olympics kick off in August. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

Kim Kardashian heads out in Miami wearing a see-through nude color top on September 17, 2016. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

A truck driver cleans the mirror of his decorated truck in Charsadda outside Peshawar, Pakistan October 18, 2016. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Supporters of the United Democratic Party (UDP) opposition alliance presidential candidate, Adama Barrow attend a campaign rally in Buffer zone, Gambia November 29, 2016. (Photo by Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters)

A woman walks past a caricature of Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in east London, Britain November 18, 2016. (Photo by Andrew Winning/Reuters)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in Florida on Saturday, October 21, 2023. The rocket is carrying 23 Starlink satellites. (Photo by Malcolm Denemark/AP Photo)