Are there really vampire bats?

While the word vampire bat brings images of Dracula and other horror films, the truth is that nature has some examples of umpirism in real life. The best known is vampire bat. There are three types of vampires that survive exclusively on the blood: common vampire bats, white wing vampire bats and furry feet. Although it differs completely from each other, all three species come from the American continent.

Vampire bats feed on small mammals or birds, depending on the species. They only hunt at night and target sleeping animals. Vampire bats fly around emitting ultrasonic sound pulses and using an infrared sensor to find the way. This allows them to fly in full darkness and approach their prey without being detected. On the other hand, vampire bats can cause serious problems in areas where cattle and horses roam at night. Meanwhile, it is known that vampire bats carry a rabies virus that can be transferred to animals and then to humans.

for feeding, vampire bats bite through the skin of animals, causing a wound greater than 5 mm (0.2 inches). Using their tongue, the bats insert their blood. Special active ingredients in saliva help prevent blood coagulation while supporting an easy flood. Every time they feed on, vampire bats take about two tablespoons of blood from their prey, just to keep their small thumb of long bodies.

Because of their unique digestive system, vampire bats must feed at least once every 48 hours to survive. Blood is usually troubled quickly and lost, so it is important to constantly replace it. After feeding, vampire bats usually return to their shelters, where they sleep until next night.

In addition to being incredible flying machines, vampire bats can also walk, run and jump with great dexterity. It is a great benefit in pursuing prey and a great way toto move around their colonies, which sometimes consist of more than 2000 bats. Despite their bad reputation, vampire bats are somewhat harmless for humans and can tame, especially when they live near large human populations.