Mary Bates, PhD

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"Trendy" Exotic Pets Should Be Left in the Wild

Photo: David Haring / Duke Lemur Center, via Wikimedia Commons. Distributed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Selfies, GIFs, and viral videos can be deadly serious for wildlife. “Cute” videos and photos shared on social media don’t tell the sad truth of the exotic pet trade.In my latest for National Geographic news, I report on three trendy exotic pets that are popular on the internet, but suffer in captivity. Think twice before you "like" or share photos and videos of wild animals being kept as pets or handled by people.Read it here: The Dark Side of Trendy Animal Photos.