Pangolin
COVID-19 infection
The nucleic acid sequence of a specific receptor-binding domain of the spike protein belonging to coronaviruses taken from pangolins was found to be a 99% match with SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus which causes COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.[72][73] Researchers in Guangzhou, China, hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 had originated in bats, and prior to infecting humans, was circulating among pangolins. The illicit Chinese trade of pangolins for use in traditional Chinese medicine was suggested as a vector for human transmission.[72][74] However, whole-genome comparison found that the pangolin and human coronaviruses share only up to 92% of their RNA.[75][76] Ecologists worried that the early speculation about pangolins being the source may have led to mass slaughters, endangering them further, which was similar to what happened to Asian palm civets during the SARS outbreak.[75][77] It was later proved that the testing which suggested that pangolins were a potential host for the virus was flawed, when genetic analysis showed that the spike protein and its binding to receptors in pangolins had minimal effect from the virus, and therefore were not likely mechanisms for COVID-19 infections in humans.[78]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin#COVID-19_infection