A Palestinian young woman from the Birzeit University looks on during clashes with Israeli security forces in Beit El, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah, on October 7, 2015. New violence rocked Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including a stabbing in annexed east Jerusalem, even as Israel and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas took steps to ease tensions. (Photo by Abbas Momani/AFP Photo)

An emu runs to escape an approaching wildfire as it burns near Potero, California, U.S. June 20, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

A hippopotamus performs during a show at the circus in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, July 7, 2016. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Cambodian children sleep on a pavement at a park in Phnom Penh on July 8, 2016. (Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP Photo)

A woman carries her child in a basket as she walks on a road in Allahabad, India, August 11, 2016. (Photo by Jitendra Prakash/Reuters)

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

A family of refugees shelters under a truck carrying plastic lota, kettles used to perform Muslim ablutions in Muna Garage, Maiduguri, Nigeria February 16, 2017. (Photo by Paul Carsten/Reuters)

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)