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 flood affected boy on a makeshift banana raft collects biscuit packets distributed by a government official from a boat in Pokoria village, east of Gauhati, north eastern Assam state, India, Monday, August 14, 2017. Heavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and floods that killed dozens of people in recent days and displaced millions more across northern India, southern Nepal and Bangladesh. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

Fans dressed up in costume await the cast members on the red carpet at the world premiere of the film "The Avengers: Endgame" in Los Angeles, California, April 22, 2019. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A girl dresses up as the Hindu deity Krishna to celebrate Janmashtami, his birthday in Agartala, India on August 26, 2019. (Photo by Abhisek Saha/Barcroft Media)

Shooting star by Tony Wu, US/Japan. Winner, underwater. The electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Wu faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view. The dancing posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water. Kinko Bay, Japan. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Vendors selling bread wait for customers at a roadside hotel in Quetta on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Banaras Khan/AFP Photo)

Customers ride escalators at a shopping mall in central Moscow, Russia on March 2, 2019. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A reveler jumps from a fountain onto the crowd below, after the launch of the “Chupinazo” rocket, to celebrate the official opening of the 2014 San Fermin fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Sunday, July 6, 2014. Revelers from around the world turned out here to kick off the festival with a messy party in the Pamplona town square, one day before the first of eight days of the running of the bulls glorified by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises”. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)