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)

People pause at a memorial set up for victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nev., on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. A gunman opened fire on an outdoor music concert on Sunday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, with dozens of people killed and hundreds injured, some by gunfire, some during the chaotic escape. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)

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)

Hailee Steinfeld performs at the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, November 19, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Photo)

The first four finalists are selected during the 66th Miss Universe pageant at Planet Hollywood hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 26, 2017. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

Shoppers walk past crocodiles for sale at a market in Bata on February 3, 2015. Markets in Equatorial Guinea sell a variety of animals including pangolins, monkeys and crocodiles as food. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

A stag deer stands in the road in Richmond Park, in west London, Britain, December 27, 2017. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

A naked holy man pulls a vehicle using his pen*s during the Magh mela festival in Allahabad, India on January 3, 2018. (Photo by Prabhat Kumar Verma/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)