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 tattoo of a weapon covers the arm of a female inmate waiting to compete in the annual beauty contest at Talavera Bruce penitentiary in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Thursday, November 23, 2017. Jail authorities say they organize the annual contest to encourage self-esteem, fight idleness and promote integration among women prisoners. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

A man takes a photograph of his friend as thick smoke rises from a fire, which broke out at oil wells set ablaze by Islamic State militants before they fled the oil-producing region of Qayyara, Iraq, January 28, 2017. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

A young girl plays on the glass bottom platform of the Oriental Pear TV Tower as she travels with her family on the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, also known as Spring Festival, in Shanghai, China on February 18, 2018. Some 287 million tourists travelled in China during the first four days of the week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, up 11.1 percent from the same period last year, new data showed Sunday. (Photo by Imaginechina/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A devotee of the Chinese Samkong Shrine walks with flowers pierced through his cheeks during a procession celebrating the annual vegetarian festival in Phuket, Thailand, October 16, 2015. The festival, featuring face-piercing, spirit mediums and strict vegetarianism celebrates the local Chinese community's belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Supporter Mette Peluce, 11, waits for U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to speak in East Los Angeles, California, U.S. May 23, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

An Indonesian boy waits as he prepares to catch offerings released by Hindu devotees of the Tengger tribe during the Yadnya Kasada festival, on the crater of Mount Bromo in Probolinggo on July 21, 2016. During the annual Yadnya Kasada festival the Tenggerese climb Mount Bromo, an active volcano, and seek the blessing from the main deity Hyang Widi Wasa by presenting offerings of rice, fruit, livestock and other local produce. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto/AFP Photo)