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)

Revellers chat on Havana's Malecon seafront before performing at a carnival parade, Cuba, August 12, 2016. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

A pig's head is seen in a basin after it was slaughtered it in the village of Azerany, Belarus, December 12, 2015. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Jenifer Lopez, 12, watches television at her home in Havana January 9, 2015. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

Models wait backstage during Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kiev, Ukraine, October 12, 2016. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Woman carrying luggage walks along a railway track on the outskirts of Mumbai, India on November 12, 2020. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

An Iranian girl walks at the Tochal ski resort, in north of Tehran, Iran on December 12, 2019. (Photo by Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA via Reuters)

This aerial picture taken on the night of November 12, 2018 shows traffic on an elevated intersection in downtown Shanghai, China. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)