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)

This watering hole is the social hub of the veldt; the scrubby grasslands that stretch across Namibia. The scorched earth supports sometimes fragile populations of magnificent wildlife – from endangered predators to plentiful herds of game. But these gentle giraffes and elephants need to be careful: lions don’t sleep at night, they hunt! The spectacular starscape above southern Africa is unchanged since explorers first mapped the continent. The photographer, Pietro Olivetta from Italy, said he had to be patient to capture these shots – but it was worth the wait. (Photo by Pietro Olivetta/Caters News)

A four-day old African spurred tortoise, Geochelone sulcata, one of eight babies, was place on the head of its mother in their enclosure in Nyiregyhaza Animal Park in Nyiregyhaza, 226 km east of Budapest, Hungary, 27 September 2011. This was the first time that offspring of an African spurred tortoise were born in this zoo. The eight babies hatched after 115 days, they are 5.5 cms long and weigh 25 grams. Spurred tortoise is the largest species of land tortoises in Africa, the weight of an adult animal may reach 80 kgs. (Photo by Attila Balazs/EPA)

In this photo taken Thursday, January 16, 2020, a Samburu boy uses a wooden stick to try to swat a swarm of desert locusts filling the air, as he herds his camel near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya. The most serious outbreak of desert locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa and posing an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, authorities say, with unusual climate conditions partly to blame. (Photo by Patrick Ngugi/AP Photo)

In this Wednesday, April 15, 2020 file photo, a motorcycle delivery man rides past a billboard urging people to stay home over the coronavirus pandemic in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Wealthier Western countries are considering how to ease lockdown restrictions and start taking gradual steps toward reviving business and daily life. But many developing countries, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, can hardly afford the luxury of any misstep. (Photo by Jon Gambrell/AP Photo/File)

An Iraqi woman and foreigners use pair of compact discs as a filter to watch the partial solar eclipse in war-torn Baghdad, 29 March 2006. Without access to proper equipment to protect their eyes from the sun's rays, eclipse watchers in Iraq used makeshift filters. The moon blotted out the sun over northwest Africa early Wednesday, turning day into night in a total solar eclipse as it swept a shadowy path from the outer tip of Brazil to the steppes of Mongolia. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AFP Photo)

People on motor bikes celebrate American President Barack Obama's visit to Kenya by holding up a photo, center top, of the president and First Lady Michelle Obama in Kisumu, Kenya, Saturday, July 25, 2015. President Barack Obama heralded Africa as a continent “on the move” Saturday as he opened a U.S.-sponsored business summit in Kenya, the East African nation where he has deep family ties. (Photo by AP Photo)

A Research In Motion BlackBerry device is shown on October 12, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. A three-day disruption of service that has previously affected users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India has now spread to customers in North America. Customers are experiencing patchy email service and receiving no access to browsing or messaging. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)