Common Vampire Bat

Desmodus rotundus

Happy Halloween! Could there be any better day to talk about the Vampire Bat?

Bats are the only mammals able to truly fly, and Vampire Bats are the only mammals who feed entirely on the blood of other animals. They feed only at night, using heat sensors to find the best spot to feed from (Horses and Cows are common prey). Because they only consume blood, their teeth are used only to pierce skin, and they are actually so thin and sharp that the prey doesn't always know they've been bitten!

After making the bite, the Vampire Bat will lick up the blood for around 30 minutes. They don't take enough blood to cause harm to the prey, though infections can occur.

Vampire Bats are very social, and live in colonies of up to 150 members. They are remarkably altruistic; if one Bat hasn't gotten enough to eat, other Bats will regurgitate blood for them to feed on. Gross, but incredibly nice, as a Bat can die if it doesn't feed for three days! The regurgitation technique is also used for young pups who are weaning off of milk but are not yet able to hunt on their own.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : Central and South America
Size : Body Length 3.5in (9cm), Wingspan 7in (18cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Chiroptera
Family : Phyllostomidae -- Genus : Desmodus -- Species : D. rotundus

Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox

Acerodon jubatus

The Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox (also known as the Golden-capped Fruit Bat) is one of the largest bat species in the entire world... but it is also one of the most threatened. These monstrous bats are found only on a handful of islands in the Philippines, and they are in grave danger due to poaching and deforestation.

Giant Golden-crowned Flying Foxes (that is a mouthful!) are named for a patch of golden colored hair found on the tops of their heads. The rest of the body ranges in color from brown to black. The "Giant" title comes from their incredible size-- they can have wingspans that measure over 5 ft! Don't worry about that huge size though, these bats are gentle giants. Their favorite food is Fig, and they also eat several other fruit and plant types. They even help to plant the forests since they deposit seeds with their droppings.

These Bats can be found exclusively on nine different Philippines islands, though that number could drop to even fewer locations-- they have already gone extinct on several smaller islands. They live at low elevations, in areas that are uninhabited by humans. When they were more abundant, the Golden-crowned Flying Foxes could be found in combined colonies with the Large Flying Foxes, and these groups could number near 100,000. At present, the largest colonies measure around 5,000.

The species is on the decline, but a number of different programs have been put into place to keep it going. They live in a few protected areas, are under study, and a captive breeding program is underway. However, enforcement in some of the protected areas is very light, allowing poaching to continue.

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IUCN Status : Endangered
Location : Philippines
Size : Wingspan up to 5.5ft (1.7m), Weight up to 2.6lbs (1.3kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Chiroptera
Family : Pteropodidae -- Genus : Acerodon -- Species : A. jubatus