People sit next to a pool where the Tower of Madrid skyscraper is reflected at sunset in Madrid, Thursday, November 26, 2015. The tower was the tallest in Spain since it was finished in 1957 until 1982. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

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)

Two women kiss each other during a flashmob on the ocassion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain, 17 May 2017. The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is held every year on 17 May. (Photo by Villar Lopez/EPA/EFE)

South Vietnamese forces escort suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem (also known as Bay Lop) on a Saigon street February 1, 1968, early in the Tet Offensive. Moments later, Lem was executed by Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the national police. (Photo by Eddie Adams/AP Photo)

Noah, 10, cools himself off in his garden during hot weather in Hertford, Britain, June 25, 2020. The UK is experiencing a summer heatwave, with temperatures in many parts of the country expected to rise above 30°C and weather warnings in place for thunderstorms at the end of the week. (Photo by Andrew Couldridge/Reuters)

A male Sumatran elephant calf named Rocky Balboa, born on May 25, 2024, stands next to its mother, a 40-year-old elephant named Lembang, at the Surabaya Zoo during the introduction of the 3-month-old calf to the public in Surabaya on August 31, 2024. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto/AFP Photo)

Divers watch as a crane pulls a piece of stone from the waters at Abu Qir bay in Alexandria on August 21, 2025, as part of an event organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to recover sunken antiquities. (Photo by Khaled Desouki/AFP Photo)

“Tough Times for Orangutans”. Nature, first prize stories. Tim Laman, USA. Location: West Kalimantan, Indonesia. A Bornean orangutan climbs over 30 meters up a tree in the rain forest of Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, August 12, 2015. The lives of wild orangutans are brought to light. Threats to these orangutans from fires, the illegal animal trade and loss of habitat due to deforestation have resulted in many orphan orangutans ending up at rehabilitation centers. (Photo by Tim Laman/World Press Photo Contest)