This picture taken on May 4, 2020 shows gentoo penguins chasing krill during feeding time in their enclosure at the Ocean Park theme park, which is currently closed due to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, in Hong Kong. Save for an absence of gawping crowds, life for the penguins of Hong Kong's Ocean Park has been much the same during the coronavirus pandemic – but their carers have worked long shifts to keep the monochrome troupe healthy. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)

Pigeons cool down at a public fountain on a hot summer day at University Plaza in downtown Bucharest, Romania, 10 June 2020. Temperatures in Bucharest reached 30 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Robert Ghement/EPA/EFE)

Graduating cadets throw their hats in the air in celebration during the commencement ceremony for graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., May 30, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)

Soldiers take a selfie on the plateform at a metro station in Ho Chi Minh City on December 22, 2024. Thousands of selfie-taking Ho Chi Minh City residents crammed into train carriages on December 22, as the traffic-clogged business hub celebrated the opening of its first-ever metro line after years of delays. (Photo by Nhac Nguyen/AFP Photo)

An alien-shaped hot air balloon flies during a mass launch at the annual Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, near Bristol, Britain, on August 8, 2025. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A meerkat stands guard as her pups cuddle at Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa early November 2025. (Photo by Nadine Leonard/Two Point O Media)

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)

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)