Syrian refugee boys play with toy guns at Eminonu district in Istanbul, Turkey, 08 January 2019. (Photo by Sedat Suna/EPA/EFE)

Protesters shout as they hit a pole during ongoing anti-government protests in Beirut, Lebanon on November 19, 2019. (Photo by Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters)

An undated handout photo obtained on May 14, 2022, from Khartoum's Marshall Nature Reserve for exotic birds, shows a visitor posing for pictures with some of the protected birds in the capital Khartoum. Tucked away east of Sudan's capital Khartoum, a sanctuary of lush green vegetation has been a haven for dozens of exotic birds from far and wide. (Photo by Khartoum Marshall Nature Reserve/AFP Photo)

A child dressed as Radha, the consort of Hindu god Krishna, participates in celebrations to mark Janmashtami festival in Kolkata, India, Friday, August 19, 2022. Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Hindu god Krishna. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

People gather outside Red Square and the Kremlin for the New Year celebrations in downtown Moscow late on December 31, 2023. (Photo by Tatyana Makeyeva/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)

The sun begins to set over this rusty beachside mansion that has been left abandoned for more than 25 years in Thailand, June 2017. A deserted beachside mansion in southern Thailand has retained its beauty – despite no one living there for more than 25 years. In June this year abandoned photographer, Dax Ward, ventured to the Prachuap Khiri-Khan Province to capture the haunting attraction on camera. (Photo by Dax Ward/Barcroft Images)

Behaviour: Mammals category. Giant Gathering by Tony Wu, USA. Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales’ rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be “a sign that populations are recovering”, says Tony. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017)