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 displaced man cools off to avoid heat on flooded highway, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Sehwan, Pakistan on September 16, 2022. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A gallery worker poses in front of part of artist Sin Wai Kin's Turner Prize shortlisted artwork “It’s Always You” at the Tate Liverpool in Liverpool, Britain on October 18, 2022. (Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters)

Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during an Israeli army raid in Jenin in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank on March 7, 2023. (Photo by Raneen Sawafta/Reuters)

Italy's #01 Valentina Gottardi waits for the ball in the women's pool A beach volleyball match between Italy and Egypt during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Thomas Samson/AFP Photo)

Residents watch the ocean waves crash into the water front, after the passage of Hurricane Irma, in Cuba, Sunday, September 10, 2017. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

A young arab boy, armed with a rifle and a knife, in the Aden Protectorate near Yemen. (Photo by Richards/Fox Photos/Getty Images). February 1938

New York nightclub owner Jack L Hickman spends his free time marching around Times Square with a sign that reads “The only good communist is a dead communist”. (Photo by Peter Keegan/Keystone/Getty Images). 26th April 1965