A woman cries near the flowers, brought to the destroyed Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, 28 June 2022. At least 18 people died following Russian airstrikes on the crowded shopping mall, the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine said in a Telegram post. The Amstor shopping center one-story building was hit by Russian rockets on 27 June afternoon. (Photo by Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA/EFE)

Natalia Lage Rainha de Drums of the Escola de Samba Inocente de Belford Roxo during a presentation in the parade of the Special Group of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro at Avenida Marques de Sapucai, Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro on April 21, 2021. The Carnival parades that take place in February were postponed to this month of April due to the high number of cases caused during the pandemic caused by COVID-19 (Coronavirus). (Photo by Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF via AFP Photo)

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

Shiite Muslim pilgrims march with banners towards the shrine city of Karbala ahead of the Arbaeen commemorations that mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for the seventh century killing of the Prophet Mohamed's grandson Imam Hussein ibn Ali, in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province on August 14, 2024. (Photo by Asaad Niazi/AFP Photo)

Two young women pose for a portrait, dressed in robes after collecting their Bachelor degrees in Conakry on October 12, 2020. Presidential elections are to be held on October 18, with incumbent President bidding for a third term in office, defying critics who say he forced through a new constitution this year enabling him to sidestep two-term presidential limits. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

A woman shouts slogans as she marches to Congress to commemorate International Women's Day in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, March 9, 2020. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

Regrowth of plants is seen in bushland that was destroyed by bushfires, in Kulnura, New South Wales, 15 January 2020. (Photo by Joel Carrett/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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)