One of the most fascinating creatures and one that is surrounded by myths of gigantic proportions is the Vampire Bat. Most people are scared even talking about these creatures but in reality they are docile, calm and never aggressive. Vampire bats are very small and most do not weigh more than 2 ounces. The only feature distinctive about them is their face-they can open their mouth wide open and they have razor sharp teeth-, which does look scary but only in the movies.
The vampire bat has teeth more like a needle, so that it can puncture skin- akin to a mosquito. In fact, the vampire bat never sucks blood as shown in Hollywood movies. They are very silent- just like a mosquito- find an animal like a cow or a pig, and pierce its skin. This results in blood dripping out and then the vampire bat simply licks the blood up. It does not sit on the skin and suck blood like a leech.
Vampire bats are nocturnal creatures and only drink blood. Most animals have no idea that the vampire bite has bitten them- after the bite, the vampire bat will tip toe until the blood starts to drip and then it will feast on it and fly away. Without blood, the vampire bat cannot survive.
Why the vampire bat drinks blood as parts of its diet is not known but believed to be a change in evolution, when food was scarce.
Humans have killed vampire bats by the thousands and very few are left. Most farmers complain that these bats are killing their animals but this is not true at all.
Vampire bats are social creatures and take care of each other. They share the food, which is a very unique feature among bats.
The vampire bat is found in the tropics and despite what humans believe, it is a gentle creature, which is frail and non-aggressive. It lives in caves in large colonies and almost never fights with other bats. Vampire bat colonies are usually large – a preventive mechanism to fight off other predators. If they ever feel threatened, they search for another cave to live in. most remain in one cave until they die.
The vampire bat only drinks blood. After it bites, it injects a chemical that relieves pain and also prevents blood from clotting. So the animal feels no pain and the blood starts to drip out. At most the vampire bat only drinks 1-5 ml of blood, which is less than a teaspoon. The vampire bat usually never bites any creature that is awake. Almost universally it will bite an animal that is asleep.
Vampire bats feed every 1-3 days, but without blood they quickly become weak. Using echolocation they can find their prey in pitch darkness. Vampire bats are usually born in early spring and have a life span of 6-12 years.
Besides humans, the vampire bat has many predators, which include hawks, eagles, and other nocturnal animals. The majority of vampire bats are eaten by hawks, who are considered to be one of the most intelligent bird species.
Humans hunt vampire bats out of pure ignorance and superstitious beliefs. It is unheard of that a vampire bat has killed a human but because they consume blood there is the potential to transmit deadly infections. However, for the most part it is very unlikely that a human will encounter a vampire bat, except at the zoo. In South America, there is now an attempt to preserve the vampire bat caves as the numbers have fallen low.
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