Fig. 3

Diagram displaying the potential transmission chain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 among humans and wild animals. Known SARS-CoV-2 hosts (horseshoe bat and pangolin), susceptible hosts confirmed by previous studies (white-tailed deer, mink, domestic cat, and zoo felines) and potential SARS-CoV-2 hosts (cougar, maned wolf and bush dog) predicted by bioinformatics analysis were included. (From left to right) Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus genus), the main animal reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-like-CoV) and Malayan pangolin, the SARS-CoV-2 intermediate host. White-tailed deer are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and are preyed by cougars, a potential SARS-CoV-2 host predicted by this study. SARS-CoV-2 may transmit from humans to cougars, considering that lions and tigers were infected by SARS-CoV-2 in the zoo. Maned Wolf, a potential SARS-CoV-2 host, can prey on other deer species. Bush dog is likely to prey on deer, but evidence is lacking. D. rotundus, a vampire bat, is a SARS-like-CoV host that can feed on white-tailed deer and other deer species. Moreover, D. rotundus could spread coronavirus to other bat species or even to cougar, maned wolf or bush dog, although there is no scientific confirmation