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Animals in the wild have learned to live with 'their' viruses, but humans are still learning. Harald Brussow (KU Leuven) has described in a new 'crystal ball' article how phages have dominated all natural habitats, and has provided a unique comparison of the use of prophages by bacteria and domesticated viruses by wild animals. He emphasizes the strategy adopted by different animal viruses, including the novel coronavirus, when humans interfered in their natural habitat.