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)

Cristine Angelie Garcia (C), 24, rides a jeepney on her way to work at a call centre for the midnight shift in Taguig city, Metro Manila, Philippines October 3, 2016. “Maybe there is another way where people do not need to die”, she said, adding she felt safer walking the streets at night. “I'm on Duterte's side. Maybe he's just misunderstood because he grew up on the streets”. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Reuters)

An aspiring Catholic priest Jose Luis Guerra, a member of Raza Nueva in Christ, a project of the archdiocese of Monterrey, and other missionaries hand out a Bible to Angel Castillo, who wants to become a missionary with Raza Nueva, in the municipality of Garcia, outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, July 12, 2016. In the troubled fringes of the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, an aspiring priest is using his faith to reach out to young gang members and at-risk youth, and bring them into his “Gang of Christ”. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

Budgies feed on seeds from a local visitor's hands at Ocean Park in metro Manila, Philippines September 10, 2016. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Women take part in a rally called “March of Whores” to protest against discrimination and violence against women on International Women's Day in Bogota, Colombia, March 8, 2016. (Photo by John Vizcaino/Reuters)

A girl runs from waves crashing over the promenade on December 24, 2015 in Blackpool, England. The Met Office is warning of 80mph winds and torrential downpours over the Christmas holidays, as dozens of flood alerts are issued for already devastated regions. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

A girl plays in a waterlogged street following a heavy monsoon rainfall in Mumbai on June 9, 2021. (Photo by Sujit Jaiswal/AFP Photo)

“Secrets of the Whales”. Skerry’s photographs celebrate the lives and culture of whales, illuminating recent research and their diverse behaviours. His latest work focuses on four key species: sperm whales, humpbacks, orca and beluga whales. Humpback whales bubble-net feeding off the coast of Alaska. They work cooperatively to feed on herring by blowing a perfect ring of bubbles underwater to form a net encircling the fish. The whales then swim up through the centre of the bubble net with their mouths open. (Photo by Brian Skerry/National Geographic Photo/Visa pour l'Image)