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 woman stumbes as people run down Oxford Street, London, Britain, November 24, 2017. Police are responding to reports of an incident at London's Oxford Circus Tube station and have urged the public to avoid the area. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

Visitors watch dinosaur models at Haitang Bay Rice Paddy Park on January 24, 2018 in Sanya, Hainan Province of China. The Haitang Bay Rice Paddy Park featuring 323 full-size dinosaur models was officially opened to the public on Thursday. (Photo by Yin Haiming/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

On the second straight day of record-setting temperatures, Maddy Hacker is hoisted up by friend Jasmine Harper, both of McLean, Virgnia, as they attempt an acrobatic stunt in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., February 21, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

In this Thursday, July 19, 2018, photo, a Syrian shopkeeper spraying water as waits for customers at the Hamadiyah market, named after the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II, in the Old City of Damascus, Syria. The celebratory mood in government-controlled areas stems from successive military advances in the past year and an impression that President Bashar Assad, with massive support by unwavering allies Russia and Iran, has won the war or at least militarily defeated the opposition trying to topple him. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

A brick factory workers stack bricks on carts in Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 9, 2019. (Photo by Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)

Hindu devotees watch as a 12 meter (40 feet) high statue of Hindu monkey-god Hanuman is washed during Hanuman Jayanti, the birthday of Lord Hanuman in Hyderabad, India, Friday, April 22, 2016. Hanuman is one of the most popular gods in the crowded pantheon of Hindu deities, and devout Hindus ascribe great strength and valor to him. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)

In this Wednesday, June 8, 2016 photo, Joe Giles, an actor portraying a zombie in “The Walking Dead”, poses with social media reporter Danielle Datu during a walker boot camp at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)