Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, takes an oral swab from a bat that was captured from a building at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF DAY 

Cloth bags containing captured bats are hung outside a building with a bat roost at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, checks the wing of a bat that was captured from a building at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, catches a bat that was caught in a mist net in front of a building with a bat roost at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A bat that was caught on a mist net set up by scientists in front of a building with a bat roost, is captured at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kirk Taray, a bat ecologist, holds a cloth bag containing captured bats as he walks with a team of scientists back to the foot of Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. "As we continue to gain close contact with wildlife, we are deliberately exposing ourselves to diseases and danger. If we cannot stop this, we might as well develop measures of control to reduce the impacts of possible future outbreaks, at the very least. That is why this research is important. By having the baseline data on the nature and occurrence of the potentially zoonotic virus in bats, we can somehow predict possible outbreaks and establish suitable, sound, and science-based health protocols," said Taray. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, holds a bat that was captured from Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF DAY 

Edison Cosico, an administrative aide at the UPLB Museum of Natural History, secures his hazmat suit as he prepares to capture bats at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 18, 2021. "It's really scary these days," said Cosico. "You never know if the bat is already a carrier," he added. "What we're after is finding out if there are any more viruses from bats that can be transmitted to humans. We'll never know if the next one is just like COVID." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, and Edison Cosico, an administrative aide at the UPLB Museum of Natural History, sit and wait besides a mist net that they set up near a bat roost at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 18, 2021. "It's really scary these days," said Cosico. "You never know if the bat is already a carrier," he added. "What we're after is finding out if there are any more viruses from bats that can be transmitted to humans. We'll never know if the next one is just like COVID." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A mist net that was set up by scientists to capture bats, hangs in a forest at Mount Makiling, Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kirk Taray, a bat ecologist, detangles a bat caught on a mist net that was set up in front of a building with a bat roost at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. "With the ongoing pandemic, there is more caution taken into consideration while studying bats. Several measures and protocols are established to protect both the researchers and the bats. Also, the community quarantine and travel restrictions added difficulty especially in accessing potential areas of study," said Taray. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF DAY 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, hikes towards a bat roost at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 18, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Filipino bat ecologists Phillip Alviola and Kirk Taray set up a mist net near a bat roost at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 18, 2021. "My goals are to encounter all the bat species in the Philippines and document their echolocation calls and survey the bats in different areas of the country especially in Mindanao," said Taray. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A bat roost is pictured at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Virus hunters put on personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from exposure to bats at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kirk Taray, a bat ecologist, holds onto a bat that was caught on a mist net as Ryan Llamas, a field assistant, holds up a flashlight during field work at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. "I am still starting with this career and I am planning to continue doing this as long as I can. A lot about bats is still unknown to science and I have many years ahead of me to contribute and shorten that information gap," said Taray. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Ryan Llamas, a field assistant, detangles a bat that was caught on a mist net at Mount Makiling, Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, measures a bat that was captured from a building at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, takes a rectal swab from a bat that was captured from a building at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A scientist wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect against exposure to bats, holds on to a mist net that was set up to capture bats, in front of a building with a bat roost at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, attempts to catch a bat that was caught on a mist net that was set up in front of a building with a bat roost at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Edison Cosico, an administrative aide at the UPLB Museum of Natural History, holds a taxidermy of a flying fox from the Rabor Wildlife Collection maintained by him at The Institute of Biological Sciences, in the University of the Philippines Los Banos in Los Banos (UPLB), Laguna province, Philippines, March 3, 2021. "I get to teach students and remain a student myself. It's fun. Being in the field even for 24 hours beats being in the office from eight to five," said Cosico. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Hundreds of bat taxidermy from the Rabor Wildlife Collection are maintained at The Institute of Biological Sciences, in the University of the Philippines Los Banos in Los Banos (UPLB), Laguna province, Philippines, March 3, 2021. Dioscoro Rabor was a zoologist and world-renowned ornithologist, and known to be the father of Philippine Wildlife. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A taxidermy of a flying fox is pictured from the Rabor Wildlife Collection at The Institute of Biological Sciences, in the University of the Philippines Los Banos in Los Banos (UPLB), Laguna province, Philippines, March 3, 2021. Dioscoro Rabor was a zoologist and world-renowned ornithologist, and known to be the father of Philippine Wildlife. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Edison Cosico, an administrative aide at the UPLB Museum of Natural History, sets up a mist net near a bat roost at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 18, 2021. "I get to teach students and remain a student myself. It's fun. Being in the field even for 24 hours beats being in the office from eight to five," said Cosico. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, take swabs from bats as Kirk Taray notes down information at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. "The pandemic has provided a more difficult environment to work with but that should not stop science from providing answers and addressing more questions. We do not know when will this current pandemic end and it will only be a matter of time to ask when will the next outbreak might occur," said Taray. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Phillip Alviola, a bat ecologist, takes an oral swab from a bat that was captured at Mount Makiling in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. "What we're trying to look into are other strains of coronavirus that have the potential to jump to humans," said Alviola. "If we know the virus itself and we know where it came from, we know how to isolate that virus geographically." REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Ryan Llamas, a field assistant, stands by a mist net that was set up to capture bats, as he waits for bats to be caught at Mount Makiling, Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Scientists wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from exposure to bats, as they set up a mist net in front of a building with a bat roost at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), in Los Banos, Laguna province, Philippines, February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Preserved bats that were captured from the wild are stored in jars at the Museum of Natural History (MNH) in the University of the Philippines Los Banos in Los Banos (UPLB), Laguna province, Philippines, March 3, 2021. Over 6000 bats are preserved, stored, and catalogued at the museum from bat captures and studies from the last two decades. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez SEARCH "LOPEZ BATS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES