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 villager jumps during “Los Sidros y Las Comedias”, a traditional festival in Spain's northern village of Valdesoto, January 8, 2017. (Photo by Eloy Alonso/Reuters)

A villager harvests water chestnuts in Feijiadai Village, Zhejiang Province, China on September 20, 2019. (Photo by Huang Zongzhi/Xinhua News Agency/Barcroft Media)

A caterpillar driven ferry with a 24 horsepower engine takes holidaymakers from the mainland at Bigbury in Devon to Burgh Island, a quarter of a mile away. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images). 4th April 1935

American actress and model Megan Fox looks lush in a green bikini for a forest photoshoot which sent social media wild in the second decade of July 2023. (Photo by Cibelle Levi)

Maudy – Kalulushi, Zambia. Maudy was born in a hut in a small village close to Kalulushi, in Zambia. She grew up playing in the street with the other children in the village, who all attend the same school, where students ages 3 to 10 years old are in the same class. The village has no shops, restaurants or hotels, and just a few children are lucky enough to have toys. Maudy and her friends found a box full of sunglasses on the street, which quickly became their favorite toys. “Toy Stories” project. (Photo and caption by Gabriele Galimberti)

A monkey catches knives as it balances on a board during a daily training session at a monkey farm in Baowan village, Xinye county of China's central Henan province, February 2, 2016. Baowan village of China's central Henan province appears to be your average farming community from the surface, but at a closer look, one can hear monkey hoots from every direction. Although no official number exists, villagers say that they have been a breeding ground for both monkeys and monkey trainers for centuries. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Villagers hold torches during the Divina Pastora procession, as part of a festival to honour the Virgin of Los Rondeles, in the southern Spanish village of Casarabonela, near Malaga, late December 12, 2016. Villagers celebrate the festival on the eve of St. Lucia's Day and hold torches during the procession to represent light and vision. St. Lucia is the patron saint of vision. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)