Some 1,250 students from the Assumption College flip their cards to form an image of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in his honour, in Bangkok, Thailand, October 28, 2016. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

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)

A tamed hawk attacks a rabbit during the traditional hunting contest outside the village of Nura, east from Almaty, Kazakhstan, February 13, 2016. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

A woman checks on two of her puppies after her neighborhood was evacuated because of severe flooding in Channelview, Texas, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Days of rain caused rivers to swell, leaving homes and businesses flooded and thousands of people displaced. (Photo by Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle/AP Photo)

A dog stands inside a voting booth as people vote during European Parliament and municipal elections, in Budapest, Hungary, on June 9, 2024. (Photo by Marton Monus/Reuters)

The ex-Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger climbed 1,000-plus steps of an old Honolulu railway line in Hawaii in the first decade of January 2023. (Photo by Instagram)

Indian actress, singer and the winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant Priyanka Chopra starred as Victoria Leeds in the 2017 remake of “Baywatch”. (Photo by AP Photo/Paramount Pictures)

This April 9, 2016 photo provided by Bertrand Piccard via Global Newsroom shows Piccard taking a selfie on board Solar Impulse 2 during a test flight over the Pacific Ocean. The solar-powered airplane on an around-the-world journey had traveled 80 percent of the way from Hawaii to California by Saturday, April 23. The aircraft's destination on this leg of the journey is Mountain View, Calif., at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. (Photo by Bertrand Piccard/Global Newsroom via AP Photo)