A Nepalese woman offers prayers to the setting Sun on the bank of Bagmati River during the Chhath Puja festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, November 10, 2021. During Chhath, an ancient Hindu festival, rituals are performed to thank the Sun God for sustaining life on earth. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/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)

A stroller walks his dogs in an autumnally colored forest in Cuxhaven, nothern Germany on November 7, 2018. (Photo by Patrik Stollarz/AFP Photo)

A man rides a bike on a submerged road alongside a boat at Demra area in Dhaka on July 24, 2020. As many as 20 districts including the latest additions Chandpur, Brahmanbaria, and Naogaon have so far been hit with the worsening flood situation across Bangladesh and many more areas might be inundated if the situation does not improve soon, said Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC). (Photo by Sultan Mahmud Mukut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Two cocks are trained for a fight in a village in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand January 10, 2017. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

On the festival of Krishna Janmashtami, a girl costumed as Lord Krishna poses for a photo in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 19, 2022. (Photo by Nayem Shaan/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A resident reacts as a health worker collects a swab sample to test for the Covid-19 coronavirus in Colombo on July 27, 2021. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

A young patient with relatives watches through a window as a Russian emergency rescue student dressed as Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) perform, outside the Morozov Children's City Clinical Hospital marking the upcoming New Year and Christmas celebrations in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, December 19, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr./AP Photo)