Five Reasons to Love Vampire Bats




They Have a Rare Combination of Talents

Of the 1240 species of bats (which are the second largest group of mammals), only three of them are vampires, Schutt says. The common vampire bat, Desmodus Rotundus, feeds mostly on large mammals such as horses and cattle, although it occasionally bites people, especially if they are sleeping outdoors or in a room with open windows. The other two species are less common and mostly feed on birds.

Since the bats survive entirely on blood, they have developed a variety of unique traits. Unlike other bats, they are very quick and agile on the ground, able to run and jump like giant spiders, leaping up to 3 feet in the air without flying. But almost all other bats cannot walk like this; they've lost the ability. Recent research suggests that vampire bats developed their own way of walking, independent from any other animal. In other words, they figured out how to walk all over again, but in a way that works for them, using their winged forelimbs (or "arms") like a toad uses its hindlegs. This allows the winged parasites to approach large animals like cattle from a variety of angles, often while the victim is asleep.

If the prey is covered with feathers or fur, the vampire bat can clip hair away with shear-like canines. It then sinks its razor-sharp teeth into the skin and laps up blood with its tongue. Vampire bats can consume more than half their weight in blood within 20 minutes, Schutt says. But they don't take enough blood to kill an animal; 2 tablespoons is all they require. The digestive system immediately ramps up to break down the blood's protein and expel the excess water. Even so, they remain much heavier than before. But the bat's forelimb, which also powers its flight, can launch these blood-gorged animals skyward, generating a force almost 10 times their body weight. No other bat has such a powerful leap, Schutt says.