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)

Residents in fox makeup participate in the Oji Fox parade to thank the outgoing and welcome the incoming year at the Oji Inari shrine in Tokyo late on December 31, 2017. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP Photo)

Members of the SubCielo company perform during the fifth annual Puerto Rico Circo Fest in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, March 10, 2018. The festival is held simultaneously in several spots on the streets of the Old San Juan city on March 10–11. (Photo by Ricardo Arduengo/AFP Photo)

Lew Hendrix collects palm branches blown down by the outer bands of Hurricane Ian in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, FL, early Wednesday morning, September 28, 2022. (Photo by Ted Richardson/The Washington Post)

A reveler celebrates New Year's Eve in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 31, 2022. (Photo by Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters)

The Taipei first girls high school marching band perform at the 134th rose parade in Pasadena, California on January 2, 2023. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/AP Photo)

Junior Lambrechts has his face painted in preparation for the Cape Minstrel Carnival in Cape Town, South Africa on January 2, 2023. (Photo by Shelley Christians/Reuters)

A woman holds a child as she stands near rubble and damages following an earthquake in Gaziantep, Turkey on February 7, 2023. (Photo by Suhaib Salem/Reuters)