While the exact source of COVID-19 remains unclear, zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 — diseases that originated in animals — are a stark reminder of how people and nature are interconnected. Other serious outbreaks, such as SARS, avian flu, and MERS, were all zoonotic in origin. Animals aren’t to blame for these outbreaks. It’s human activities that encroach unsustainably into wild places and risky interactions with wildlife that create increased risk.