Bats and Viruses – level 2

The coronavirus and many other dangerous viruses in the past came from bats and scientists wonder why.

There are more than 1,300 kinds of bats and they are very different. Some bats eat fruit, some eat small animals, and some even drink the blood of other animals. Some bats live in forests and some live in caves. This diversity is probably a reason why bats host so many viruses. Scientists found out that bats host more viruses that can infect people than rats.

Bats live quite long which means that viruses have more time to develop. Since bats fly, their body temperature is higher. This can be another reason why some viruses are so dangerous. They can live in warmer places.

Difficult words: cave (a hole in a hill or under the ground), diversity (when there are many different ways or kinds of something), host (to be the place where other living things can live).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.