A reveller dressed as Spider-Man takes part in a presentation at the top of a building during an annual block party known as “Enquanto isso na Sala da Justiça” (Meanwhile, in the justice room), one of the many carnival parties taking place in the neighbourhood of Olinda, Brazil February 7, 2016. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)

Volunteers skin western diamondback rattlesnakes during the 2021 Rattlesnake Roundup at the Nolan County Coliseum in Sweetwater, Texas on March 13, 2021. The town of Sweetwater holds the largest rattlesnake roundup in the world, launched in 1958 with the sole purpose of getting rid of rattlesnakes, killing an average of 5,000 pounds of snake each year. (Photo by Paul Ratje/AFP Photo)

Musicians in Father Frost costumes ride along Nevsky Avenue on the Dedmorobus (portmanteau of “Father Frost” and “bus”) musical bus to entertain citizens ahead of New Year celebrations in St Petersburg, Russia on December 28, 2020. (Photo by Alexander Demianchuk/TASS)

British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Cambridge University Professor and Fellow, circa 1985. Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions, has died aged 76. (Photo by Gemma Levine/Getty Images)

Women offer prayers on Valentines Day at the Trimurti Shrine, which is believed to bring love, in Bangkok on February 14, 2023. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

An Indian girl student covers her face as a precaution against the coronavirus outbreak, in Mumbai, India, 12 March 2020. According to media reports, more than 70 people in India have tested positive for COVID-19. The World Health Organisation declared the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 as global pandemic. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Siberian tigers are fed by visitors from a bus at the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, in China's northeastern Heilongjiang province, on January 6, 2023. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

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)