The first red panda cub was born on May 30 in zoo Zlin. Zoologist Roman Vrzal holds a male of red panda. The Red panda is pictured in Zlin, Czech Republic, August 20, 2014. (Photo by Dalibor Gluck/CTK)

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)

Starlings are seen at their nesting box in a private garden in the town of Bobruisk, Belarus, April 8, 2018. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Undated BBC handout photo of a female two-coloured Mason Bee carrying a dried grass stalk back to her snail-shell nest on the British Isles in the latest episode of Sir David Attenborough's Wild Isles series. Issue date: Sunday March 26, 2023. (Photo by John Walters/Silverback Films/BBC/PA Wire)

A man takes care of the cats at the Arnamir cat hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 14, 2023. Animal care services can be an option during the holidays when pets are left behind, so that pets are not neglected while their owners are away. The hotel implements free-to-play concept, so that the cats are entrusted and has a comfortable room to stay. The rooms are monitored by a 24-hour surveillance camera. (Photo by Dasril Roszandi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Sebastião Salgado is a Brazilian documentary photographer living in Paris. He has produced several books, and his work has been exhibited extensively around the world. His latest work, «Genesis», premieres at The Natural History Museum in London on April 11, on view through September 8, 2013. Photo: On South Georgia, a barren island in the far South Atlantic, a pair of southern elephant seal calves beckon before a colony of king penguins. “The male seals can grow to almost five tons,” says Salgado, “but these are just babies. This one looked at me with beautiful eyes”. (Photo by Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas/Contact Press Images)

A Grevy’s zebra gets itself noticed at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Whipsnade, England on April 20, 2018. (Photo by Tony Margiocchi/Barcroft Media)

A security man keeps guard during Malawi's President elect Arthur Peter Mutharika swearing in ceremony at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on May 28, 2019, after a contentious election marred by allegations of fraud and vote-rigging. The Malawi Electoral Commission announced on Monday that Mutharika, who heads the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), had narrowly won last week's vote after an injunction barring the release of the results was lifted. (Photo by Amos Gumulira/AFP Photo)