“The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae now found in the wild only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A Tasmanian Devil bears it's teeth at a quarantine facility August 31, 2005 in Hobart, Australia. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Meet the star students of orangutan school – the unique rehab centre where orphaned apes are taught how to climb trees and survive in the wild without their mum and dad. (Photo by Caters News)

Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, who is dressed as the “Star Wars” character Darth Vader, poses for a picture as he dries his mask and helmet with a hairdryer in the bathroom of his apartments in Odessa, Ukraine, December 2, 2015. Darth Vader was bent on galactic domination, but his Ukrainian namesake enjoys more mundane pursuits: local politics, walking the family dog and a spot of embroidery. The Ukrainian citizen, who has changed his name to Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, ran for the post of local mayor in October, his political backers dressed as Stormtroopers. In his trademark black outfit, he is a regular sight around Odessa, a major port city on southern Ukraine's Black Sea coast. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Vultures gather to eat waste in Bica beach, on the banks of the Guanabara Bay, with the Sugar Loaf mountain in background, 500 days ahead the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro March 24, 2015. As part of its Olympic bid, Rio promised to clean up 80 percent of the bay for the games. But local government officials have already admitted that a cleanup by 2016 is not achievable. Despite millions of dollars of investment over the years, the bay still stinks of sewage. Sailors who visited the city for test events complained of a floating sofa and a dead dog in the water. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

Firefighters take part in airport emergency exercise at the Sultan Iskandar Muda international airport in Blang Bintang, Indonesia's Aceh province on October 26, 2023. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

A Beijing Opera performer dances for a show by designer Hao Weimin at China Fashion Week, China, October 28, 2019. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

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)

Kyla Drumm, 5, waits after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in Skippack, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 3, 2021. (Photo by Hannah Beier/Reuters)