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)

Firefighters carry a woman on a stretcher after a car drove into the crowded seaside boardwalk along Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, January 18, 2018. Military police said on Twitter that at least 11 people were injured and that the driver has been taken into custody. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Kite-surfers practice in a water reservoir at the shores of the Mediterranean sea close to the southern Israeli kibbutz of Ziqim during stormy weather, on December 20, 2021. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

A squatter argues with a police officer during an eviction at a settlement coined the “First of May Refugee Camp”, named for the date people moved on the land designated for a Petrobras refinery, in Itaguai, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday, July 1, 2021, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

A soldier of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment falls off a horse during a practice to participate in the state ceremonial surrounding this year's Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Hyde Park in London, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Around 170 horses and personnel of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment left their Hyde Park Barracks to form up and be inspected by the General Officer Commanding the Household Division, Major General Christopher Ghika. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

Mexican clown Gabriela Munoz, whose clown name is Chula the Clown, looks at herself in the mirror after putting on her make up during an interview in Mexico City, Friday, August 26, 2022. (Photo by Berenice Bautista/AP Photo)

A Buddhist monk wearing a protective mask walks around the Sewu temple during the celebrations of Vesak Day, marking the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, May 26, 2021. (Photo by Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift eyes are caught in a photographer's flash as she arrives on the red carpet for the “Billboard Women in Music” event in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 12, 2019. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)