Five-year-old Jeda takes a close look at “Sharnana” by artist Drew McDonald at the Sculpture by The Sea on October 18, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jessica Hromas/The Guardian)

A “friendly giant” sculpture hangs from a tree in the Hanmer Heritage Forest at Hammer Springs, New Zealand, Sunday, June 14, 2020. Christchurch sculptor Andrew Lyons created the creatures out of a redwood tree that had to be removed from nearby Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa in 2018 and carved nine sculptures including big friendly giant, some enormous mushrooms, a falcon, and a dog. (Photo by Mark Baker/AP Photo)

Police officers wield their batons against a man as a punishment for breaking the lockdown rules after India ordered a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of coronavirus in New Delhi, India, March 25, 2020. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Iraqi firefighters try to stop the fire of burning oil wells in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, 02 June 2016. Two Khabbaz oil field wells in Kirkuk Province, northern Iraq, exploded by suspected insurgents, a security official said. (Photo by EPA/Stringer)

Artist Le Pustra and organiser Else Edelstahl pose for a picture at Simon Dach Strasse, a street filled with many bars, in Berlin, Germany, August 28, 2016. Else Edelstahl organises the party series “Boheme Sauvage”, in which people dress up in 1920s style, celebrating Berlin nightlife of a past era. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

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)

Romanian military doctors and medical students sit on a bus behind steamy windows before the National Day parade in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, December 1, 2016. Military planes and helicopters flew over the Romanian capital Thursday as thousands turned out to celebrate the national day, marking the date when the country reunified with Transylvania in 1918. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)