page_title: Common vampire bat
section_title: Feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Common vampire bat / Behavior / Feeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Vampire bat at the Buffalo Zoo.
context_page_description: The common vampire bat is a small, leaf-nosed bat native to Latin America. It is one of three extant species of vampire bat, the other two being the hairy-legged and the white-winged vampire bats. The common vampire bat practices hematophagy, mainly feeding on the blood of livestock. The bat usually approaches its prey at night while they are sleeping. It then uses its razor-sharp teeth to cut open the skin of its hosts and lap up their blood with its long tongue.
  The species is highly polygynous, and dominant adult males defend groups of females. It is one of the most social of bat species with a number of cooperative behaviors such as social grooming and food sharing. Because it feeds on livestock and is a carrier of rabies, the common vampire bat is considered a pest. Its conservation status is categorized as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of "its wide distribution, presumed large population tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category."
context_section_description: The common vampire bat feeds primarily on mammalian blood, particularly that of livestock such as cattle and horses. Vampire bats feed on wild prey like the tapir, but seem to prefer domesticated animals, and favor horses over cattle when given the choice. Female animals, particularly those in estrus, are more often targeted than males. This could be because of the hormones.
  Vampire bats hunt at night, using echolocation and olfaction to track down prey. They feed in a distance of 5 to 8 km (3.1 to 5.0 mi) from their roosts. When a bat selects a target, it lands on it, or jumps up onto it from the ground, usually targeting the rump, flank, or neck of its prey; heat sensors in the nose help it to detect blood vessels near the surface of the skin. It pierces the animal's skin with its teeth, biting away a small flap, and laps up the blood with its tongue, which has lateral grooves adapted to this purpose. The blood is kept from clotting by an anticoagulant in the saliva.
  They are protective of their host and will fend off other bats while feeding. It is uncommon for two or more bats to feed on the same host, with the exception of mothers and their offspring.
caption: A vampire bat drinking at the Buffalo Zoo
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