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)

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)

In this March 2, 2018 photo, an Andean man rests with his llama while tourists take in the natural wonder of Rainbow Mountain in Pitumarca, Peru. Tourists gasp for breath as they climb for two hours to the 16,404-foot (5,000-meter) peak in the Peruvian Andes, but stunned by the magical beauty that unfurls before them. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

Latefat Alao, 56, a ethnic Yoruba Muslim woman, waits for customers in front of her in Beere market in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, January 29, 2015. Much of the grain and wheat traders like Alao sell comes from the north and Boko Haram's campaign has negatively affected farmers and food markets. Reuters photographer Akintunde Akinleye photographed Nigerians and asked them about their views on the elections as well as their hopes and concerns for the country. (Photo by Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters)

Imaan Hammam and Rihanna attend the FENTY x Webster Pop-up Cocktail at The Webster on June 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Fenty)