COVID-19 is just one of many illnesses that have spilled over to us from wildlife. Ebola, SARS, HIV/AIDS – three out of four emerging infectious diseases come from animals.
The exact origins of COVID-19 are unknown but investigations into the likes of bats and pangolins have been carried out. Some species of these mammals are among the one million plants and animals threatened with extinction.
We look at efforts to save them before it is too late. In southern India, locals are safeguarding the only remaining home of one critically endangered bat. In Vietnam we meet the conservationists rehabilitating trafficked pangolins. And disease ecologist, Jonathan Epstein, explains that our encroachment on the natural world is making another outbreak “almost guaranteed”.
Credit: Images of birds in Qatar taken by Raytohgraphy Services.
