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 stag reacts as magpies and crows fuss over a resting stag as they feed on ticks from the fur of the deer herd roaming on the Ashton Court Estate, Bristol, in crisp and cold Autumnal weather on November 23, 2020. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)

Women wearing masks and shields take a selfie in front of a praying altar during Lunar New Year in Chinatown in Manila, Philippines, February 12, 2021. (Photo by Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

The Soyuz 2.1b rocket with a Fregat-M booster and meteorology and emergency communications satellite Arktika-M No 1 launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on February 28, 2021. Arktika-M No 1 is the first of ten Arktika satellites to be launched by Roscosmos into orbit. (Photo by Roscomos/TASS)

Police officers take cover as they clash with protesters after an officer shot and killed a black man in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 11,2021. Protests broke out April 11, 2021 night after US police fatally shot a young Black man in a suburb of Minneapolis – where a former police officer is currently on trial for the murder of George Floyd. Hundreds of people gathered outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, northwest of Minneapolis. Police fired teargas and flash bangs at the demonstrators, according to an AFP videojournalist at the scene. (Photo by Kerem Yucel/AFP Photo)

An effigy representing Judas Iscariot burns as some people wearing masks watch during Holy Week in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Burning of Judas is an Easter-time ritual in many communities, where an effigy of Judas Iscariot is hanged on Good Friday, then burned on Easter Sunday. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)

Constanza Mena poses for a photo during a red-nosed walk organized by the Flying Laughter clown group amid the new coronavirus pandemic, in downtown Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The group aims to show that people do not lose the right to play and have fun in the street while pandemic protective measures are in effect. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)

People wearing mushroom hats stand in front of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)