Back
to table of contents
|
The
Vampire Bat
Well, as it turns out, bats
account for about 25% of all mammals on earth. And that means
there are literally millions and millions of them out there. So,
I thought that these members of the Order Chiroptera deserve a
mention or two.... Hope you don't mind.
Did You Know that bats are
the only mammals that keep flapping their wings when they're in
the air? In other words, they sustain their flight by actually
flying all the time, not by gliding. And there's certainly good
reason why they can do that. Their wings are a miracle of
design. Four elongated fingers - plus an ankle are integrally
connected to each wing membrane. Some species even have a tail.
(Sometimes, the tail is included in the wing membrane.)
Did You Know ...The
expression: Blind as a bat .... Fact is, it isn't true.
Bats can see. Albeit, many of them not too well - but
they do see. Even evening bats that use echolocation - a kind of
ultrasonic process - to hunt their prey. Other varieties - the
Old World fruit bats (sometimes known as flying foxes) see
fairly well. They also have a great sense of smell to help them
locate ripe mangoes, soursops, guavas, figs, etc.
The Vampire Bat.... I find it fascinating that the
vampire bat has teeth that are so specialized, they can lift up
a fold of their victim's skin. And saliva that not only contains
an anti-coagulant to keep the blood flowing, but an anesthetic
that keeps the victim from knowing it is being bitten. The
mosquito has a similar anesthetic. You don't feel the mosquito
biting and drawing out your blood until the anesthetic starts
wearing off. (Some Amazon Indians believe that you don't feel a
vampire bat's bite because the bat fans the wound it makes with
its wings.)
Now, some people think that once a vampire bat bites its victim,
it immediately goes to work sucking its blood. Not so.... What
happens is, the bite simply starts the blood dripping. Then the
bat leaves its victim, follows the blood trail to where it
pools, and starts lapping it up with its tongue. The same way a
dog or cat laps up water or milk. How much blood can a vampire
bat consume? Well, I've heard of cases where the victims, not
realizing they've been bitten, have lost four to five ounces of
blood and every drop ended up ingested.
You don't want to be bitten too often by a vampire bat.
In the very wild areas of South America...
...for instance, where there's enough natural food available,
vampire bats are, for the most part, host specific. Often
feeding on roosting birds, for example, generally the larger
birds. They bite them on their shoulders and you'll very often
see the caked blood resulting from this.
They're also very fond of livestock. In places like Venezuela
and the island of Trinidad, horses seem to be at risk.
|
