Vampire bats get their name from mythical vampires, the legendary night creatures of medieval European folklore which survive by feeding off the blood of humans. Myths about vampires existed long before the discovery of vampire bats, as far back as the late 17th-century.
It might surprise you to know that vampire bats are caring, social creatures. For the most part, they are not territorial with one another because they find security in hanging out and engaging in grooming habits with each other.
Contrary to their frightening persona, vampire bats are not aggressive toward humans. They can even be tame and friendly toward people. In the wild, vampire bats live between 8 and 12 years. They can live up to 19 years in captivity. Other threats come from humans and include habitat loss, deforestation, guano mining and roost disturbance due to cave exploring.
Farmers sometimes kill vampire bats to protect their livestock from possible diseases like rabies that can be contracted from vampire bat bites. They are genuine, documented living species of bats. However, scientists now know that these bats feed on insects, birds, and small rodents.
They are larger than true vampire bats and feature a prominent leaf nose and large eyes and ears. Besides the three living species bats that this article discusses, there are also four species of vampire bats that have become extinct. Vampire bats feed solely on the blood of birds and animals.
In fact, they are the only mammals in the world to live entirely on blood. Of the three living vampire bat species, the white-winged and hairy-legged vampire bats both feed primarily on the blood of birds. The common vampire bat feeds on the blood of birds and animals such as horses, cows, and pigs. Unlike their cousin species which feed on nectar, pollen, fruit, and insects, vampire bats feed solely on blood.
They use their gift of echolocation to find prey such as livestock animals by listening for the sound of breathing. After making a tiny incision into the skin, they lap up the blood from the wound. They just want to sneak up quietly on a sleeping animal, take a tiny bite out of its skin and drink about an ounce of its blood before quietly flying back to its cave. Most of the time, the animal never even knows it was visited in the night by a vampire bat.
Because there are three species of vampire bats, you might read or hear their common names which include: white-winged bat, the hairy-legged bat, and the common vampire bat. Females are pregnant for about seven months and usually only have one pup per breeding season usually in the springtime. After giving birth, mothers will care for their pups for about five months.
Baby vampire bats are born without hair but look so adorable with their little round faces, small ears and big eyes. Vampire bats have been beatboxing long before humans learned to do it for entertainment. They make a variety of sounds that include chirping, clicking, knocking, drumming, squealing and screeching. They can be loud, but usually, they make low-energy sound pulses to communicate with one another.
If a young vampire bat becomes isolated from its mother, it will call out for her in an ultrasonic sound that is usually not audible to humans. When a large colony flies out at night together, you might hear the collective sound of their flapping wings.
Yes, vampire bats can carry infectious diseases. They are most often associated with rabies, which can spread to humans and domestic animals. Party Animals. Try This! Explore More. Common Name: Common Vampire Bat. Scientific Name: Desmodus rotundus. Type: Mammals. Diet: Carnivore. Group Name: Colony. Size: Body: 3. Weight: 2 ounces Varies; can double in one feeding. Cool Facts About Bats Find out cool and creepy facts about bats—from how and where they live, to what they eat and how they talk to each other.
Now Playing. Cool Facts About Bats. Up Next. Bats Eating Snacks. Explore more! Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons or periodic condition changes. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal. Greenhall, A. Joermann, U. Schmidt, and M. April 8. American Society of Mammalogists. Altenbach, J. Locomotor Morphology of the Vampire Bat, Desmodus rotundus. Brass, D. Ridgefield, Connecticut: Livia Press.
Fernandez, A. Tablante, F. Bartoli, S. Beguin, R. Expression of biological activity of draculin, the anticoagulant factor from vampire bat saliva is strictly dependent on the appropriate glycosylation of the native molecule. Biochemica et Biophysica Acta , 2 : Lord, R. Seasonal reproduction of vampire bats and its relation to seasonality of bovine rabies. Journal of Wildlife Diseases , 28 2 : Macdonald, D. Encyclopedia of Mammals.
New York: Facts on File. Turner, D. Walker, E. Mammals of the World, 3rd Edition. Wilkinson, G. Social grooming in the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus. Animal Behaviour , 34 6 : The social organization of the common vampire bat.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology , 17 2 : To cite this page: Mulheisen, M. Anderson Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.
Desmodus rotundus vampire bat Facebook. Turner, Biogeographic Regions nearctic native neotropical native Habitat Common vampire bats are limited to warm climates. Brass, Habitat Regions tropical terrestrial Terrestrial Biomes forest rainforest scrub forest Other Habitat Features caves Range elevation high m Altenbach, ; Brass, ; Macdonald, ; Walker, Other Physical Features endothermic bilateral symmetry Sexual Dimorphism sexes alike Range mass 15 to 50 g 0.
Wilkinson, ; Wilkinson, Mating System polygynous Desmodus rotundus is believed to be sexually active throughout the year. Breeding season lthough young may be born at any time during the year, peak times for births occurred during April and May and in October and November.
Range lifespan Status: wild 12 high years Average lifespan Sex: female Status: captivity Altenbach, ; Brass, ; Macdonald, ; Turner, ; Walker, ; Wilkinson, ; Wilkinson, Key Behaviors flies nocturnal motile social Communication and Perception Vocalizations are most common between mother and offspring.
Communication Channels tactile acoustic chemical Perception Channels visual tactile acoustic echolocation chemical Food Habits Desmodus rotundus feeds exclusively on the blood of other vertebrates. Brass, Primary Diet carnivore sanguivore Animal Foods blood Economic Importance for Humans: Positive Research on the anticoagulant agents in vampire bat saliva may improve medical treatment of some human injuries and diseases. Positive Impacts source of medicine or drug research and education produces fertilizer Economic Importance for Humans: Negative A bite from Desmodus rotundus can cause infections and transmit diseases carried by the bat.
Brass, ; Lord, Negative Impacts injures humans bites or stings carries human disease causes or carries domestic animal disease Conservation Status Vampire bat populations have increased because of the introducion of livestock in South America, providing an abundant new source of food.
Glossary Nearctic living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. Neotropical living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America. Read more Classification Kingdom Animalia animals Animalia: information 1 Animalia: pictures Animalia: specimens Animalia: sounds Animalia: maps Chordata: information 1 Chordata: pictures Chordata: specimens Chordata: sounds Vertebrata: information 1 Vertebrata: pictures Vertebrata: specimens Vertebrata: sounds Mammalia: information 1 Mammalia: pictures Mammalia: specimens Mammalia: sounds
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