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)

An airplane house is pictured in the village of Miziara, northern Lebanon May 12, 2015. Miziara prides itself on building residential homes that resemble ancient Greek temples and Egyptian ruins, one is even built in the shape of an Airbus A380. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

A supporter of presidential candidate and former chairman of the NATO Military Committee and Czech Army General Petr Pavel hands out leaflets, ahead of a direct presidential election that will start on January 13, in Prague, Czech Republic on January 5, 2023. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)

Commuters make their way across a street during rainfall in New Delhi on June 27, 2024. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)

A policeman aims his weapon at protesters during a curfew imposed following violence during protests against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, August 5, 2024. (Photo by Rajib Dhar/AP Photo)

German-American model and television host Heidi Klum arrives for the screening of “La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Pot-au-Feu)” during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 24 May 2023. The movie is presented in the Official Competition of the festival which runs from 16 to 27 May.(Photo by Sebastien Nogier/EPA)

David Pariken 46, of the indigenous Maasai community, roasts meat at the inaugural Maa Cultural Week dubbed The Maa-Festival aimed to promote peace, tourism, and cultural exchange as the wildebeests (Connochaetes taurinus) make their annual cross border migration at the Sekenani village, in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, in Narok County, Kenya on August 22, 2023. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

American singer Tinashe arrives at the 2022 American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 20, 2022. (Photo by Aude Guerrucci/Reuters)