Common vampire bat

The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is a small, <a href="/facts/Leaf-nosed_bat/vB9CeKT0">leaf-nosed bat</a> native to the <a href="/facts/Americas/hEuUTL4K">Americas</a>. It is one of three extant species of <a href="/facts/Vampire_bat/JR94QhBs">vampire bats</a>, the other two being the <a href="/facts/Hairy-legged_vampire_bat/HdHwK427">hairy-legged</a> and the <a href="/facts/White-winged_vampire_bat/7x5C5XcT">white-winged vampire bats</a>. 
The common vampire bat practices <a href="/facts/Hematophagy/plcTvPFg">hematophagy</a>, mainly feeding on the blood of <a href="/facts/Livestock/Quhv6GvP">livestock</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Polygyny_in_animals/9QVUtGHj">polygynous</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Rabies/rPDyNHwL">rabies</a>, the common vampire bat is considered a <a href="/facts/Pest_(organism)/mXGHJ8s7">pest</a>. Its conservation status is categorized as <a href="/facts/Least_concern/8u7koV5r">least concern</a> by the <a href="/facts/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature/QwV8JXup">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> 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."

Common vampire bat open-in-new

Common vampire bat