Starlings come home to roost on Brighton's Old Pier as the sun sets on December 21, 2011 in Brighton, England. December 21 marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Young girls attend a training session in MGFSO Olympic reserve school in Moscow on May 30, 2016. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

Vice President of Lebanese Wildlife Alexandra Youssef, checks a fox at a vet clinic in Beit Mery, Lebanon on March 26, 2021. (Photo by Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)

Cars float up from a car garage in a mixture of storm water and gasoline in lower Manhattan as workers begin the process of pumping out the mess. (Photo by Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

A model presents a creation by British designer Vivienne Westwood as part of her Spring/Summer 2018 women's ready-to-wear collection show during Fashion Week in Paris, France September 30, 2017. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

English comic actor and director Charlie Chaplin (Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, 1889–1977) seated on straw bales during the filming of “The Circus” with his leading lady Merna Kennedy (1908–1944). (Photo by Margaret Chute/Getty Images). 1928

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)