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 Fulani Pastoralist carries two baby sheep on her donkey cart as her family move on northwards in Barkedji, Senegal on July 21, 2020. Thousands of Pastoralist families will start the movement north in the next weeks. With the first rains comes fresh grass and water for the Fulani herders' livestock, it also marks the point where most of the Pastoralist will move northwards until the dry season. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

A woman pulls a wooden craft carrying her family in flood water after attending a wedding ceremony in Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia, March 16, 2022. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A fox cub gets up to mischief in a garden in Halifax, West Yorkshire on May 10, 2022. The homeowners say a family of foxes visit regularly from their nearby den. (Photo by Steve Midgley/Solent News)

The granddaughter of one of the family members cries after the eviction from their home in El Raval neighbourhood, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Barcelona, Spain, May 12, 2021. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A man rides a skateboard at Radical Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Hundreds of joggers, dog walkers, skateboarders and picnicking families come each day. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

Blake Perkins #16 of the Milwaukee Brewers gets dunked with Gatorade after the Brewers defeated the Boston Red Sox at American Family Field on April 22, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

A youth rolls a hoop in the National Theater where families displaced by gang violence are taking shelter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 9, 2024. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)