Do Vampire Bats Really Drink Blood

"Certain species of bats get their chilling name from a legendary monster, the vampire, and like these revolting fantasy creatures, these bats really do drink the blood of animals. Luckily, vampire bats don't harm people; they're much more interested in the blood of livestock and forest animals. Their bites are so small that they're often undetected by the animals they feed on. Readers will be fascinated by these eerie creatures as well as the awesome photographs of vampire bats in the wild."

Vampires are made-up creatures that drink blood. But vampire bats are real! Do they really need to drink blood to survive? You have questions and this book has the answers. Find out about vampire bats, including what they eat and their behaviour.

Many people know that vampire bats drink blood. But most people don’t know that’s the only food adult vampire bats take in. In addition to milk, mother bats feed their babies regurgitated blood when they’re old enough! Readers learn creepy—but true—facts like these throughout the main content. Full-color photographs take readers through the night with vampire bats on the hunt, including a look at a bat actually drinking from livestock! Fact boxes enhance the main content’s focus on this incredible adaptation, adding information about vampire bats’ life-span, size, and more.

Bat biologist Barbara A. Schmidt-French and writer Carol A. Butler offer a compendium of insightful facts about bats in this accessible and expertly written question-and-answer volume. Numbering more than one thousand species in our world today, bats in the wild are generally unthreatening. Like most other mammals, bats are curious, affectionate, and even playful with one another. Highly beneficial animals, bats are critical to global ecological, economic, and public health. Do Bats Drink Blood? illuminates the role bats play in the ecosystem, their complex social behavior, and how they glide through the night sky using their acute hearingùecholocation skills that have helped in the development of navigational aids for the blind. Personal in voice with the perspective of a skilled bat researcher, this book explores wideranging topics as well as common questions people have about bats, providing a trove of fascinating facts. Featuring rare color and black-and-white photographs, including some by renowned biologist, photographer, and author Merlin Tuttle, Do Bats Drink Blood? provides a comprehensive resource for general readers, students, teachers, zoo and museum enthusiasts, farmers and orchardists, or anyone who may encounter or be fascinated by these extraordinary animals.

Describes vampire bats, their habits, where they live, their hunting methods, and how they exist in the world of people.

Introduces the world of blood-sucking animals, examining how and why they suck blood, and discussing historical and modern medical uses for such creatures as leeches and vampire bats.