Who is the vampires closest friend? The vampire bat, of course! Every time you see a vampire in the movies, he is surrounded by the little furry fellows escorting him on his nightly pillages. When a vampire needs to make a quick exit, he often turns himself into one of these creepy critters. But what is a vampire bat, and do they suck blood from unwilling hosts? Are they evil creatures, hiding in caves and dark castles? Surprisingly, as scientists study the little bat, they are finding its bloodthirsty habits may be helpful to humankind. Picture a creature with a little head, bright black eyes, and a squashed up nose, looking almost like a pigs snout. The animal has huge ears, rounded to a tip, and sharp, pointed incisor teeth in an overbite. It has a wingspan of eight inches, with a soft, brown furry body the size of a persons thumb. It weighs about three ounces. It goes by the long name of Desmodonitidae rotundus, but prefers to be called by its everyday name, The Common Vampire Bat. The Common Vampire Bat lives in Central and South America, along with its cousins, the White- Winged Vampire Bat and the Hairy- Legged Vampire Bat. The common vampire bat is the only one that loves to dine on mammals; the other two prefer birds. They have been around at least six to eight million years, with fossil records going back as far. They like to live in caves, abandoned mines, tree hollows and sometimes abandoned buildings. Like most bats, they can see, but use echolocation to find their prey. Living nine years in the wild, they have one baby a year, and nest in large family groups, sleeping upside down. Time to hunt! The little bats will swoop out of their cozy caves around dusk, looking for fat sleeping cattle or pigs in the near by countryside. The vampire bats consume only blood for nourishment. They drink about two tablespoons of blood a day, and need to drink at least every other day, or they starve to death. Ah, a nice big sleeping cow. The vampire bat swoops down to the cows back, and quickly pierces the hide with the sharp incisor teeth, making two small holes (just like Dracula!). The bat then laps the blood into its mouth with its tongue, nothing as sloppy as sucking. Imagine your pet cat lapping at a bowl of milk. Special anticoagulants, or chemicals that prevent blood from clotting, help the vampire bat drink enough blood before the animals blood dries up, similar to a mosquito. The bat also has a numbing agent, to keep its dinner from waking up and kicking it off! Scientists are studying the anticoagulants in the vampire bat, and have made a drug called Draculin to aid in anticoagulation for cardiac patients. Other scientists are using the compounds to help stroke victims limit the effects of blood clots in the brain. Unfortunately, the vampire bat is considered a pest because the bat population has grown enormously since tropical forests were decimated to allow for more grazing area for livestock. With the addition of more livestock, came more bats. Ranchers are killing the bats in large numbers, along with insect eating bats. Draculas best friend may be humankinds good friend in helping scientists fight heart attacks and strokes. Hopefully people can be educated as to the true nature of the little bat, and not continue to kill off a helpful creature out of ignorance and superstition. Heres to the vampire bat, and all creatures who go bump in the night! |
