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)

Cave Diver, Anhumas Abyss, Bonito, Brazil: The Anhumas Abyss is an underground cavern with a crystal-clear lake below, more than 260 feet (79 m) deep. A visitor must enter through a narrow opening at the top of the chamber and rappel into the cave. Snorkeling and scuba diving in the lake reveal amazing scenery. Distinctive, conical limestone stalagmites and stalactites occupy the lake and the surrounding area, some reaching 65 feet (20 m) high. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/Nature’s Best Photography Awards 2017)

China goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying blocks a shot against Japan during a preliminary round women's hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, February 6, 2022, in Beijing. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

Camp dwellers pump water from a well at Malkohi refugee camp in Jimeta, Adamawa State, Nigeria on February 19, 2019, four days ahead of the country's General elections set for February 23 after a last-minute rescheduling. Malkohi is a camp for internal displaced who fled their homes as Boko Haram insurgents advanced across north-eastern Nigeria. From their homes on the outskirts of Yola, capital of presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar's home state Adamawa, Malkohi residents say they feel forgotten. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

A man sleeps on a wheelbarrow outside a closed shop at a market during the first day of a ceasefire in Yemen's capital Sanaa April 11, 2016. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

This picture taken on October 20, 2016 shows students practising wushu at the Tagou martial arts school in Dengfeng. China is investing hugely in football training and has vowed to have 50 million school- age players by 2020, as the ruling Communist party eyes “football superpower” status by 2050. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP Photo)

Scores of internally displaced Muslims are at the heart of the humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic, where violence between Christians and Muslims has threatened to spiral into genocide. Photo: An internally displaced woman carries her child in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs), located at Bangui International Airport, April 10, 2014. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

A man carries a blood stained stretcher in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria January 10, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)