Researchers were astonished to film at least 14 different species, including monitor lizards, leopards and monkeys, visiting the cave to feast on potentially disease-ridden bats.

Researchers in Uganda have discovered a complex network of animals feeding on bats infected with Marburg virus, for the first time capturing startling footage of potential spillover risks.

The observations, caught on camera traps placed outside the entrance to “Python Cave” in Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda, are the first confirmation “of a dynamic, multispecies exposure network at a known Marburg virus site”, the researchers say.