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)

Palestinian man Mohammed al-Hoor, 23, demonstrates his street workout skills in Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip on May 2, 2017. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

A fisherman throws a net for catching fish with his wife in Yanhu fisherman village near Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, 18 October 2018. (Photo by Aleksandar Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

A man gets stuck under debris at a damaged site after an airstrike in the Saqba area, in the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria, January 9, 2018. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

An Indonesian jockey rides two bulls with a cart during a traditional sport bull race locally called “pacu jawi” in Pariangan of Tanah Datar regency in West Sumatra on December 1, 2018. (Photo by Adek Berry/AFP Photo)

Buddhist monk Wilatha holds a rescued Burmese python at his monastery that has turned into a snake sanctuary on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, November 26, 2020. Wilatha is trying to play a part in saving scores of snakes that might otherwise be killed or destined for the black market. (Photo by Shwe Paw Mya Tin/Reuters)

A man wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus, walks past in front of an advertisement of an opera performance outside of a theater in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)

Valery Bystritskii, 10, gets a fellow student into a lock at Bunny's Gym in July 2015 in Winchester, Tennessee. (Photo by Mike Saliba/Barcroft USA)