BelizeHank after vampire bat bite, copyright Hank Hammatt

Awoke one morning with the telltale signs of a vampire bat bite during the night. Never felt a thing! The bats inject the equivalent of a localized tranquilizer when they initially bite down, then they really do suck your blood. Cattle can be severely attacked. Because of the rabies endemic areas that we traverse in our work with Elephant Care International (ElephantCare.org) I had recently received a rabies vaccine, so was not concerned enough to do anything more about this bite. Despite their reputation, bats are rarely vectors for rabies, although they certainly can be. This was in Belize.

 

Bats are also very important as pollinators and nay species of plants are dependent upon them. They also eat gazillions of mosquitoes every day. At my hut, BelizeHank.com, I had 52 female bats that lived on the back (outside) wall for many years. The 5-6 males lived inside with me. How do I know this--because once I looked up and every single outside bat had a baby!

Done