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)

Three white tigers cub born on January 05, 2020 stand beside their mother Orissa at the zoological park of Amneville, northeastern France, on March 9, 2020. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP Photo)

Spectators in colourful attire cheer as the pack of riders (peloton) cycles by during the 14th stage of the 111th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 151,9 km between Pau and Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet, in the Pyrenees mountains in southwestern France, on July 13, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Photo)

Aymara indigenous women “Martha La Altena” (El Alto's Martha) (R) and “Susana La Bonita” (Pretty Susana) take part in a freestyle wrestling flight in El Alto, on June 29, 2018. “Cholita Fighters” aim to include their show in a tourist route. (Photo by Aizar Raldes/AFP Photo)

A destroyed tank sits by the side of a road leading to Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front was on top of a coalition that ruled Ethiopia for nearly three decades. That changed in 2018, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rose to power as a reformist. Abiy alienated the TPLF with efforts to make peace with its archenemy, Eritrea, and rid the federal government of corruption. (Photo by Ben Curtis/AP Photo)

On the festival of Krishna Janmashtami, a girl costumed as Lord Krishna poses for a photo in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 19, 2022. (Photo by Nayem Shaan/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The Chilean ship “Skorpios II” is seen after it ran aground in “Maillen” island, near Puerto Montt, south of Santiago, in this handout picture from the Chilean Navy, February 5, 2015. According to the Chilean Navy, the ship's 89 passengers and 31 crew members were all evacuated and no oil spills or casualties were reported. (Photo by Reuters/Chilean Navy)

Chinese woman Zhang Jing, known as the “Ugly Girl” smiles after doctors removed the stitches from her fourth session of cosmetic surgery at a hospital on March 23, 2005 in Shanghai, China. Zhang Jing, 26 years old, from Tianjin Municipality, was forced to leave school because her classmates sneered at her appearance during her teenage years. After leaving junior high school, Zhang found herself still unacceptable by society, she struggled to look for a job, but was turned down by one thousand job applications in ten years. Zhang's story was widely reported by the media in 2003, this helped her find a job and get three chances of free plastic surgery. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)