Conservation blogs
In Their Own Words: Celebrating World Ranger Day 2020 with CapeNature's Power Rangers!
Hidden travel gems revealed in the Western Cape
The Wonderful World of Insects: Nature's Superglue
Sinking of the MV Treasure - marking South Africa's worst environmental disaster
CapeNature announces phased reopening of reserves
Of Pangolins, Bats and the Illegal Trade of Wildlife
Of Pangolins, Bats and the Illegal Trade of Wildlife
Of Pangolins, Bats and the Illegal Trade of Wildlife
Of Pangolins, Bats and the Illegal Trade of Wildlife
Of Pangolins, Bats and the Illegal Trade of Wildlife
The COVID-19 pandemic has got us to think about our relationship to the natural world and specifically the animals with which we share this planet. While there is currently much speculation about the transmission of COVID-19, and the role that wild animals play (particularly pangolins and bats), it is important to understand that scientists have mapped only a fraction of wildlife viruses. Many of these have co-evolved in a vast variety of insects and animals — not just pangolins and bats. COVID-19 is the latest in a series of animal-related outbreaks that include the SARS epidemic and the MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2012.