In this Monday, June 5, 2017, file photo, an Indian woman walks as se searches for recyclable materials at a garbage dumping site on the outskirts of Gauhati, Assam state, India. (Photo by Anupam Nath/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)

This image of a young bareback rider was taken in the village of Palenque de San Basilio, in Colombia’s Bolívar department. Founded by freed slaves in the 17th century, it became the first free town in the Americas, following a decree by the Spanish crown. Most of today’s inhabitants are direct descendants of those slaves and have preserved many of their customs, including their own language, Palenquero. (Photo by Sebastián Suki Beláustegui/The Guardian)

German troops in Stalingrad, USSR. September 10, 1942. (Photo by TASS)

An Afghan hunter shoots at a duck in Laghman province, Afghanistan on May 30, 2018. (Photo by Reuters/Parwiz)

Senior Buddhist monk Lobsang Tayang sits outside the Amarbayasgalant Monastery in the Baruunburen district, Selenge province, Mongolia, April 26, 2018. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

This photo taken on February 26, 2019 shows an aerial view of a tea field in Zhangping in China's eastern Fujian province. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Revelers enter the cold water during the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)