A pedestrian wearing a form of PPE (personal protective equipment) of a perspex full-face covering, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, walks across Oxford Street in central London on June 11, 2020, as non-essential shops prepare to re-open on June 15. Britain's current guidelines on social distancing remain at two metres (2M), but business leaders and some politicians are on Thursday calling for it to be reduced to one (1M), or one-and-a-half (1.5M) metres. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

A “friendly giant” sculpture hangs from a tree in the Hanmer Heritage Forest at Hammer Springs, New Zealand, Sunday, June 14, 2020. Christchurch sculptor Andrew Lyons created the creatures out of a redwood tree that had to be removed from nearby Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa in 2018 and carved nine sculptures including big friendly giant, some enormous mushrooms, a falcon, and a dog. (Photo by Mark Baker/AP Photo)

A model poses during the fashion show on May 23, 2019 during the amfAR 26th Annual Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, southern France, on the sidelines of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)

Participants take part in the 44th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney, Australia, 05 Ma​rch 2022. (Photo by Bianca de Marchi/EPA/EFE)

This adorable and unlikely pair of best friends are inseperable. Kitty the kitten was abandoned and Buttons the Jack Russell was rejected by his mum. They eat, sleep and play together while they are being hand reared at our centre in Old Windsor, Berkshire. We would love for them to find a new home together when they are ready to leave our care in the near future.

In this Thursday, December 1, 2016 photo, Cat Bigney, part of the Oglala Native American tribe, waits on the shore of the Cannonball river for travelers to arrive by canoe at the Oceti Sakowin camp where people have gathered to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Cannon Ball, N.D. So far, those at the camp have shrugged off the heavy snow, icy winds and frigid temperatures. But if they defy next week's government deadline to abandon the camp, demonstrators know the real deep freeze lies ahead. Life-threatening wind chills and towering snow drifts could mean the greatest challenge is simple survival. (Photo by David Goldman/AP 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)