A pangolin captured by hunters in the Ituri rainforest, in Mambasa territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 19 October 2020. The risk of a new pathogen coming in contact with human populations is increased in areas with high biodiversity like Congo. Over 72 percent of the country lives on less than USD 1.90 a day, which makes free sources of food like hunting essential in parts of the country where hunting and fishing are a viable option. Human populations come into contact with animals and pathogens during activities such as hunting for food or the exotic animal trade and deforestation. With deforestation and habitat loss, animals are more likely to move into new areas and come into contact with human beings for the first time. Humans living in these high-risk areas have a far greater chance of becoming a 'patient zero' for virus spillover than elsewhere. The exotic animal trade is also an attractive source of revenue as Congo still hosts many exotic animals, including pangolins, the mammal suspected to be a secondary host for COVID-19 before it spilled over into the human population. There exists a precarious situation where conservation is a losing battle due to governance factors, and Congo’s biodiversity posits a distinct likelihood for a new virus to jump from an animal to a human population. Mammals alone are estimated to host at least 320,000 undiscovered viruses. (Photo by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/EPA/EFE)





The Big Pond lacuna, an enigmatic place in the center of the island, where friendly alligators await you on the shore in San Andres Islands, Colombia on December 16, 2020. The island of San Andrés has been for years the paradise of the sea of the seven colors, offering itself as an outstanding beach, breeze, and sea destination, however, this offer has been renewed to offer different experiences including activities such as kayaking, fauna, and diving. (Photo by Juancho Torres/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)





Collared parakeets settle on their sleeping tree at Kaiser-Friedrich-Platz in Wiesbaden, Germany on December 9, 2020. More than 2,000 collared parakeets and about 800 large Alexandrine parakeets have been part of the cityscape since 1975. (Photo by Arne Dedert/dpa)





An orangutan, which was seized from the Thailand-Malaysia border 3 years ago, looks from a cage before it is being transferred to Indonesia, at the airport in Bangkok, Thailand on December 17, 2020. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)





A black stork forages at the Beichuan river wetland park in Xining City, northwest China's Qinghai Province, December 6, 2020. Recently, the wetland park saw two black storks, a migratory bird species under first-class protection in China. There are only around 3,000 black storks now worldwide. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Researchers from Brazil's state-run Fiocruz Institute shine a light on a bat they captured in the Atlantic Forest during a nighttime outing in Pedra Branca state park, near Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Nov.ember17, 2020. The outing was part of a project to collect and study viruses present in wild animals – including bats, which many scientists believe were linked to the outbreak of COVID-19. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)





A long-eared owl is seen on a tree in Beyobasi village of Sincan district, Ankara, Turkey on December 14, 2020. Nearly 30 eared forest owls live in the village. (Photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)





In this file photo taken on June 27, 2018 a river dolphin (Sotalia fluviatilis) swims at Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Amazonas state, Brazil. Three Central American frog species have gone extinct and many others may soon follow as their populations are ravaged by a fungus spreading faster due to climate change, conservationists said on December 12, 2020. In an update to its “Red List” of threatened species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said there had been some positive developments, including for the European bison, but warned the world was seeing a worrying number of extinctions. The tucuxi, a grey dolphin found in the Amazon river system, has been moved to the “endangered” category. (Photo by Mauro Pimentel/AFP Photo)





Colobus monkeys eat the flowers of a flamboyant tree, also known as Royal Poinciana, in Diani Beach, Kenya, December 12, 2020. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)





Spotted owlets are seen on a tree branch in Kathmandu on December 17, 2020. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)





A stork at the Protected Animal Rehabilitation Center in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, 10 December 2020. A flock have to undergo a long lasting treatment and could not be set free to set off on a migration flights to Africa. Most birds forced to stay on the ground suffered serious wings fractures or even partial amputations. (Photo by Darek Delmanowicz/EPA/EFE)





A Wooly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha) is seen during its rehabilitation at the Maikuchiga foundation in the indigenous community of Mocagua, near Leticia, Colombia on November 18, 2020. Maikuchiga – History of monkeys in Tikuna indigenous language – is a primate rehabilitation center which reinserts monkey cubs, whose mothers were victims of hunting for illegal trafficking, into the jungle. (Photo by Raul Arboleda/AFP Photo)




An Adjutant Stork catches an Indian eel in a winter morning in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam, India, 05 December 2020. (Photo by EPA/EFE/Stringer)





A great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) also called concave-casqued hornbill and one of the larger members of the hornbill family, lands on the branch of a banyan tree with fruits, Bago Region, Myanmar, 16 December 2020. (Photo by Lynn Bo Bo/EPA/EFE)





A Morus Bassanus, known as Northern Gannet, dives to fish as the Boulogne-sur-Mer based trawler “Nicolas Jeremy” fishes in the North Sea, off the coast of northern France, December 7, 2020. French Fishermen net a quarter of their northeastern Atlantic catch in British waters and say their livehoods would be impacted if Brexit restricts their access to old fishing grounds. (Photo by Pascal Rossignol/Reuters)





A common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) catches a fish in a lake near Tiszaalpar, Hungary, 17 December 2020. (Photo by Attila Kovacs/EPA/EFE)





Kawi, a newly born baby of critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, holds on to his mother Mawar at their enclosure at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, December 15, 2020. Kawi was born on Nov. 17. 2020. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP Photo)





A bilby receives a Christmas treat at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia on December 9, 2020. (Photo by Rick Stevens/Taronga Zoo Sydney via Reuters)





Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office catches a pigeon as journalists await results of the Brexit trade deal in Downing Street in London, Thursday, December 24, 2020. European Union and British negotiators are closing in on a trade deal with only a disagreement over fishing remaining, After resolving a few remaining fair competition issues, negotiators were dealing with EU fisheries rights in U.K. waters Wednesday as they worked to secure a deal for a post-Brexit relationship after nine months of talks. (Photo by rank Augstein/AP Photo)





A red squirrel sniffs out nuts inside Christmas stockings as part of the festive celebrations and enrichment programme at Wildwood Escot Park in Ottery St Mary, Devon, United Kingdom on December 17, 2020. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)