When most people think of vampire bats they probably think of vicious creatures who are constantly drinking human blood, but in truth, they are not too different from other bat species, like the most common bat in the US, the little brown bat.
The little brown bat and the vampire bat both have “hand wings” meaning their wings are made up of thin membrane stretched over long finger bones. However, the vampire bat’s thumbs are longer, which lets them run and jump, unlike most bats that can only walk. The colors of both species’ fur can range from brown to reddish orange and both have a wingspan of eight inches. The vampire bat weighs an ounce and the little brown bat weighs slightly less at half an ounce.
The little brown bat is commonly found in North America, Canada and some high elevation forests in Mexico. They roost in a variety of places such as attics, abandoned mines and caves, trees, rocks, and wood piles. While little brown bats are commonly found in the north, the vampire bat can be found from northern Mexico to South American countries like Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. The vampire bat roosts in humid and arid climates like caves mines, and abandoned buildings.
The diet of both species are vastly different, though they are both nocturnal therefore hunt at night. The little brown bat eats insects like midges, mayflies, and caddisflies using echolocation to find their prey. They use echolocation by making a high frequency sound that bounces off things in their environment. They use this to determine the location and size of their prey. The vampire bat however, does not use echolocation and strictly feeds of the blood of animals like cows, pigs and horses. They feed by using their sharp incisor teeth to nip a piece of the preys skin and an anticoagulant in the bat’s saliva lets the blood from the cut to keep flowing instead of clotting. This means, contrary to belief, the vampire bat does not actually suck the blood of their prey and actually licks up the blood from the wound. They need at least two tablespoons of blood and can not go more than two days without food.
