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 damaged vehicle is seen next to the ring road, around Skopje, near the village of Stajkovci, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 08 August 2016. At least 21 people have died and more than 100 are injured in the heavy rain storm that hit the Macedonian capital Skopje late Saturday night causing severe damage to the roads and house infrastructure. More than 80 vehicles were hit by landslides at Skopje's ring road. The highway remains closed. The government announced a 15-day state of emergency in the Skopje and Tetovo region. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA)

A Kashmiri girl holds her brother in the doorway of their home while watching protesters shout pro-freedom and anti-Indian slogans during mourning and protests held in downtown Srinagar on August 22, 2016, following the killing of teenager Irfan Ahmed by security forces. Teenager Irfan Ahmed was killed after he was hit in the chest by a teargas canister fired by Indian security forces to quell pro-freedom protests in the Kashmiri capital on August 21. More than 60 civilians have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces, and thousands more injured in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan region since 201. Indian-administered Kashmir has been in the grip of almost daily anti-India protests and rolling curfews sparked by the killing on July 8 of a popular rebel leader, Burhan Wani, in a gunfight with government forces. (Photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP Photo)

Harry Potter, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and many more children's classics are recreated by these book based babies. The gorgeous photos come via Venture Photography for National Storytelling Week.

A body of a victim lies trapped in the debris after an earthquake hit, in Kathmandu, Nepal April 25, 2015. Rescue efforts in Nepal are intensifying after nearly 2,000 people were killed on Saturday in the worst earthquake there in more than 80 years. Many countries and charities have offered aid to deal with the disaster. Seventeen people have been killed on Mount Everest by avalanches – the mountain's worst-ever disaster. Meanwhile a powerful aftershock was felt on Sunday in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, and more avalanches were reported near Everest. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A Buddhist monk catches an aerial view of Kathmandu from the damaged Swayambhunath Stupa premises in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, May 6, 2015. The April 25 earthquake killed thousands and injured many more as it flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in Kathmandu. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A resident walks on a makeshift walkway above a flooded street from the rising Rio Solimoes, one of the two main branches of the Amazon River, in Careiro da Varzea of Amazonas State, Brazil, June 30, 2015. According to the state Civil Defense, more than 460,000 people were affected by strong rains in the state. (Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

A young girls holds a ballot during the Greek referendum in Athens on July 5, 2015. Greek voters headed to the polls today to vote in a historic, tightly fought referendum on whether to accept worsening austerity in exchange for more bailout funds, in a gamble that could see it crash out of the euro. (Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP Photo)