Where did the Ebola virus originate?

The Ebola virus is thought to come from bats, according to LiveScience. Out of over 1,000 small animals that were tested, only three species of fruit bat, the hammer-headed bat, Franquet's epauletted fruit bat and the little-collared fruit bat, were found to harbor the Ebola virus.

Two of these species of bat are found in Guinea, where the 2014 Ebola outbreak started in West Africa, reports LiveScience. It is thought that those who handled or ate bats were infected with the virus, as bat soup is a delicacy in the region. Unfortunately, scientists have only found circumstantial evidence that the Ebola virus originated from handling raw bat meat.