A photographer could bear-ly believe his eyes when a bear started waving at him. The friendly animal wandered to the front of his enclosure before sitting back in full view of zoo guests. He then lifts his powerful paw and excitedly waves in an almost human-like way at his new audience. The hilarious encounter was captured by keen photographer Andrey Slepnev, 31, while on a trip to Madrid Zoo, Spain on March 24, 2016. (Photo by Andrey Slepnev/Caters News)

In this July 5, 2016 photo, a tamed elephant rests in a pool of water by a road in Baduraliya, a village outside Colombo, Sri Lanka. Even as the country cracks down on illegal ownership, the enduring demand for elephants has the government planning to set up its own pool of captive animals to be hired out to temples for ceremonies and maintained with budget funds. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)

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)

Summer Zhai and Vicky He, dressed as characters from the anime "Love Live!", rest on stairs during day two of New York Comic Con in Manhattan, New York, October 9, 2015. The event draws thousands of costumed fans, panels of pop culture luminaries and features a sprawling floor of vendors in a space equivalent to more than three football fields at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center on Manhattan's West side. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

In this Wednesday, December 2, 2015 photo, Dr. Gal Kelmer, head of the department of large animals, unties a horse after its operation at the University's Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Rishon Lezion, Israel. “Horses have an instinctive response of flight from danger”, Kelmer said. “The minute they wake up they start trying to stand and run, even if they don't have control of their limbs. So then they fall”. (Photo by Oded Balilty/AP Photo)

A shepherd rides a donkey as he leads sheep during winter in Van, Turkiye on February 19, 2022. Despite the terrible winter weather and the hard geology of the region, breeders in Van's Gurpnar district, where livestock is the most important source of revenue, do not disregard the care of their animals. Livestock farmers in the Cepkenli and Topcudegirmeni neighborhoods have the similar difficulties as those in rural areas, where the snow depth reaches one meter. (Photo by Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A dead whale is seen on the shore of the Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil November 15, 2017. A biologist, Rafael Carvalho, said on Wednesday the whale appeared to have been dead for a few days. Authorities were urging beachgoers who had flocked to Ipanema on a national holiday to stay away from the animal. However, many were spotted near the carcass with some people playing in the water nearby. The whale is approximately 39 feet (12 metres) long and weighs about 25 tonnes. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

Five-month-old baby elephant Fah Jam swims during a hydrotherapy treatment as part of a lengthy rehabilitation process to heal her injured front left foot at a rehabilitation center in Pattaya, Thailand January 5, 2017. The baby elephant was injured at three months old when she got stuck in an animal snare put up by villagers to prevent elephant intrusions in Chanthaburi province. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)