Common Vampire Bat: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Creatures of the Night · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Most bats are clumsy on the ground, but this one can run. It bounds along on its strong wings instead of its legs, and it can leap too.
2. It feeds on blood, mostly from cattle and horses. At night it tracks animals by echo and smell, and heat sensors in its nose find veins near the skin.
3. Vampire bats share meals with roost-mates. In a Costa Rica study, 95% of sharing was between close relatives, and most was mothers feeding pups.
4. Two vampire bats often clean each other's fur at the same time. This grooming builds friendships, and bats that groom each other also share food.
5. Its saliva keeps blood from clotting. Scientists used this to make a medicine, desmoteplase, that improved blood flow in stroke patients.

The quiz

1. How does the common vampire bat run on the ground?

• It hops on its back legs like a frog
• It cannot move on the ground at all
• It slides on its belly
• It bounds along using its wings (correct)

Its wings are far stronger than its legs, so it pushes off with them.

2. What helps the vampire bat find blood vessels under an animal's skin?

• Long whiskers on its chin
• Sticky pads on its feet
• Heat sensors in its nose (correct)
• Spines on its tail

Its nose has heat sensors that detect blood vessels close to the skin.

3. In the Costa Rica study, who did vampire bats mostly share food with?

• Close relatives (correct)
• Any bat that asked
• Bats of other species
• Only strangers

In the wild, 95% of food sharing seen was between close kin.

4. Why do vampire bats groom each other?

• To dry off after rain
• To get rid of their old teeth
• To clean up and build social bonds (correct)
• To warn of danger

Mutual grooming cleans them and strengthens their social bonds.

5. What medicine was made using a property of vampire bat saliva?

• A painkiller for headaches
• A drug that improved blood flow in stroke patients (correct)
• A cream that heals sunburn
• A vaccine against the flu

Desmoteplase uses the saliva's anti-clotting power to help stroke patients.

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