A dramatic rise in owning exotic pets in China is fuelling global demand for threatened species. The growing trade in alligators, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and spiders is directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Here: A fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is groomed in a pet store in central Beijing. Native to the Sahara in North Africa, the species became a popular pet after being depicted as a character in Disney’s 2016 animated movie Zootopia. Individuals can cost between $2,000–$3,000. (Photo by Sean Gallagher/The Guardian)

A man watches a classic Turkish movie from his car at a temporary drive-in theatre held in a shopping mall car park amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on May 28, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul and other major cities across Turkey have begun to ease restrictions and have started preparations for the reopening of some locations, shops and services as infection rates continue to drop. As of May 28, Turkey has reported 4,461 coronavirus-related deaths and 160,979 confirmed cases. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

A Thai man smokes a cigarette as he sits in the flooded streets October 10, 2011 in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Around 200 factories closed in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya because of flooding, which is posing a threat to Bangkok as well. Over 260 people have died in flood-related incidents since late July according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Some areas of the country are experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years, mainly in the centre, north and northeast. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Residents cross a swelling dam, due to rising waters brought about by Typhoon Koppu, in Las Pinas city, metro Manila October 19, 2015. Powerful typhoon Koppu ploughed into the northeastern Philippines before dawn on Sunday destroying homes and displacing 10,000 people and whipping up coastal surges four meters (12 feet) high, disaster agency officials said. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Reuters)

Participants of the techno-parade “Zug der Liebe” (Train of love) dance on a street in Berlin, Germany July 25, 2015. The “Zug der Liebe” is the successor to the “Loveparade”, which in its heyday attracted up to 100,000 participants and ended in disaster and tragedy in 2010 when 21 people died and over 500 were injured due to suffocation from overcrowding at the “Loveparade” in Duisburg. (Photo by Axel Schmidt/Reuters)

Aerial view over mud and waste from the disaster caused by dam spill in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 26 January 2019. At least nine people have died and 300 are missing after a tailings dam burst at the Feijao mine in southeastern Brazil owned by Vale, the world's largest iron-ore producer, the Minas Gerais state government said. The dam in Brumadinho near Belo Horizonte broke on 25 January at around mid-day, unleashing a river of sludge that destroyed some nearby houses. (Photo by Antonio Lacerda/EPA/EFE)

A girl looks on next to a damaged car buried in mud in an area heavily affected by torrential rains and flash floods in the village of Kamuchiri, near Mai Mahiu, on April 29, 2024. At least 45 people died when a dam burst its banks near a town in Kenya's Rift Valley, police said on April 29, 2024, as torrential rains and floods battered the country The disaster raises the total death toll over the March-May wet season in Kenya to more than 120 as heavier than usual rainfall pounds East Africa, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

Workers put some finishing touches on “Forever Marilyn”, a sculpture by Seward Johnson, on July 14, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The stainless steel and aluminum sculpture which stands 26 feet tall and weighs 34,000 pounds will be unveiled tomorrow and remain on display in Chicago through the spring of 2012. The sculpture was inspired by Marilyn Monroe's iconic scene in the 1955 movie “Seven Year Itch”. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)