Bat out of hell

The deadly Ebola virus has a reservoir in fruit bats

Nipah virus antibodies found in Indian bats in Mahabaleshwar cave

Two bat species had the virus and antibodies

From enormous elephants to tiny shrews: How mammals shape and are shaped by Africa’s landscapes

Africa’s mammals are a global treasure that must be protected

Where should we be looking for the next SARS-like virus? AI offers clues

Machine learning can help shortlist animal hosts that need further monitoring

Global Eco Watch: Kazakhstan’s smallest saiga population records mass calving

Down To Earth brings you the top happenings in the world of global ecology

Bushmeat contributing to Ebola epidemic, warns FAO

Ebola death toll rises to over 630

Zambian court stops land clearing in Kasanka National Park, where 10 million bats roost annually

Every year, African straw-coloured fruit bats migrate to the park from the Congo and act as pollinators

Winged wonders: We should not resent bats, because we need them

The pandemic has magnified fear of bats, but their conservation is crucial to prevent such events from arising again

Why it’s important to study coronaviruses in African bats

Understanding factors that play a role in the spillover of pathogens from bats to humans in Africa is important in view of high species diversity

COVID-19: Bats’ immune system, longevity offer clues for treatment, says study

Bats’ immune systems have mechanisms to control inflammation, a mainstay of disease and ageing

COVID-19: Did SARS-CoV-2 originate in raccoon dogs from Wuhan wet market? New data gives links

Meanwhile, Israel reports new COVID-19 variant — a combination of BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants of Omicron

AI helps identify bat species suspected of carrying Nipah virus

Based on traits of bats to carry the virus, researchers have pointed out that more bat species in India may be reservoirs of Nipah than the only …

Global warming: Africa, Asia most at risk of zoonotic spillovers

There can be 15,000 instances of viruses jumping from one species to another over the next 50 years

Scientists create map showing bat-human viral transmission

The highest risk hotspots for zoonotic bat viruses are West Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia

COVID-19: ‘It is easy to blame bats than to look at ourselves’

Bat expert Tigga Kingston flags societal behaviour, human prejudice amid increasing vilification of bats for novel coronavirus

Four new fungi species discovered on bat carcasses in China

One of the fungal genus is known to contain numerous aggressive pathogens that can infect mammals, according to researchers

World’s biggest bat colony gathers in Zambia every year: We used artificial intelligence to count them

Agricultural developments, wind farm may adversely impact the bat population at Kasanka National Park

What is the new theory of COVID-19 originating from raccoon dogs at the wet market in Wuhan?

Analysis of genetic data from in and around Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market shows that raccoon dogs, which were being sold illegally at the market,…

Kerala never fully eradicated Nipah, but contained it: Experts

Kerala will need to increase vigilance, awareness at community level to prevent future Nipah outbreaks, say experts

Unfounded fears of contagion threaten bat population in Kerala

Destruction of bat habitats and culling is rampant in Kerala despite no evidence linking the animals with disease outbreaks in the state

‘COVID-19 could have started 3-4 months before December in China’

Down To Earth speaks to Maureen Miller, infectious disease epidemiologist and medical anthropologist about the possible origins of the novel …

We want to know where COVID came from. But it’s too soon to expect miracles

If we keep looking, we may eventually find all the missing pieces we need to close the case on where SARS-CoV-2 came from

How virus detectives trace the origins of an outbreak - and why it’s so tricky

Tracking down the origins of a virus involves a combination of extensive fieldwork, thorough lab testing and quite a bit of luck

Residents of this Odisha village are conserving bats despite COVID-19 stigma

They strongly believe that the winged mammals have nothing to do with the disease’s spread

Bats dying of heat stroke: Experts fear mass population collapse, zoonotic diseases

Live bats don’t cause harm as they’re immune to viruses, but their carcass coming in contact with domestic animals may increase …