9 Vampire Bat Facts for Kids

Vampire bats are small bats that live in central and south America. They live only in warm climates but can be found from Mexico to Chile and across the southern part of the continent.

1. They do not bite humans typically unless they are provoked. Like all bats they are, well blind as bats. They can see but their vision is poor so they rely on sonar to find their prey. They live in caves, hollowed out trees, old wells even in abandoned buildings. Sometimes they can be found living in chimneys of occupied buildings.

What Do They Eat?

2. The million dollar question about vampire bats is “do they suck the blood of animals?” well the answer is yes they do. Unlike other bats that eat insects or fruits vampire bats (all three varieties) sustain themselves on blood.

3. Only one the Common Vampire Bat sucks the blood of mammals the other two species stick to insects and other animals. The Common Vampire Bat feeds on livestock like cattle and horses and other large mammals. The host almost never knows that the bat has been using them for a meal. The bite does not hurt however bats are known carriers of rabies so there is always the risk of rabies transmittal.

4. Bats also have an anti cogulan in their saliva called draculan that prevents the blood from clotting so that they can get their full, this anti cogulan can cause continued bleeding.

5. Vampire bats live in colonies of up to 100 bats but can live in colonies of up to 2000 bats. A 100 bat colonies can drain 25 cows of their blood in a year.

6. Vampire bats usually weigh around 40 grams but they can eat up to 20 grams of blood during a feeding. They feed at night (they are nocturnal animals) while their host is sleeping. If a vampire bat goes two nights without feeding they will shortly die.

They Can Run

7. Most species of bats do not have the ability to dash around on the ground the way the Vampire Bat can. They have strong hind legs and a thumb like appendage on their wings that help them to move rather quickly at a pace of about 2.2 meters per second.

8. They typically will scatter on the ground once they are done feeding.

Life Span

9. In captivity a vampire bat will live up to 20 years but in the wild they live for about 15.