8 things you probably didn’t know about vampire bats

At Halloween time, or any time, students are fascinated by vampire bats. Maybe it’s  because vampire bats seem so scary and dangerous. But here are 8 facts you, and your students, probably didn’t know about vampire bats. I bet they’ll love learning about them.

1. There are 3 species of vampire bats, all living in Central and South America. The average vampire bat weighs 2 ounces and is 3-4 inches long with a 7 inch wingspan. A bat’s lifespan is about 9 years.
2. Vampire bats, unlike other bats, can walk and jump.
3. Vampire bats do drink blood. This is called hematophagy and it technically makes vampire bats parasites. Most animals that drink blood also eat or drink other things, but vampire bats are the only mammal whose only food supply is blood.
4. Vampire bats have special thermoreceptor cells on their noses which are able to feel warmth. These help the bat locate the part of the prey where blood is closest to the skin.
5. Vampire bats have highly developed hearing and are able to detect the breathing sounds of sleeping animals. When vampire bats locate a sleeping animal, they land on the ground near the animal and sneak up toward it in what looks like a crawl.
6. Vampire bats have very sharp front teeth so that they can cut into the skin of their prey, usually horses, pigs, or cows but also sometimes birds. Once the skin is pierced, the birds lap the blood from the wound. This is different from mosquitos which such the blood from their prey. The bat’s saliva contains chemicals that prevent the mammal’s blood from clotting, allowing it to feel for a longer time, up to 30 minutes. Mosquitoes also have these chemicals.
7. Vampire bats live in groups in very dark places such as caves and hollow trees. They really do sleep upside down with their wings wrapped around themselves.
8. Bats within a vampire bat colony share food. A bat who didn’t find prey one night might receive a gift of regurgitated blood from another bat in the colony. This behavior is more common between colony members that are related to each other. Vampire bats also groom each other.

You absolutely want to watch this video on Youtube. Amazing footage of vampire bats hopping and drinking blood.

Check out my blog post on Halloween science activities for middle schoolers here.

Photo credits:

Sleeping bat Photo by Yannis H on Unsplash

Bat on the ground Photo by White on Unsplash