ASK!

Image courtesy of The University Of Aberdeen
(http://www.abdn.ac.uk/)

Is the idea of vampirish bats real? Or do these blood sucking creatures belong in the dark gothic fiction world of Dracula and Twilight?

Well, there are bats that suck blood and they are aptly known as vampire bats.

A vampire bat bites other animals and drinks their blood. A vampire bat may bite a sleeping horse, cow, or even a person, without being noticed. First, its sharp teeth make a shallow cut. Then the bat simply laps up a small amount of blood and flies away. The chief danger to the victim, (unlike what most gothic movies and books suggest) is not loss of blood but rather infection. This is because vampire bats are known carriers of rabies, a   “fatal viral disease that infects domestic and wild animals and is spread through people through close contact with infected saliva”.

Sources

Land, B. (2008). Bats. (K. F. Koopman, Rev.). The New Book of Knowledge®. Retrieved September 6, 2008, from Grolier Online http://nbk.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=a2002420h
World Health Organization http://www.who.int/

For more information on vampire bats, do check out these books!

All Rights Reserved, New York: Power Kids Press
Vampire bats: hunting for blood by Barbara A. Somervill
Publisher: New York: Power Kids Press/Rosen Publishing Group, 2008
Call no.: JP English 599.4 SOM
Click here to view item availability

All Rights Reserved, New York; Londer: Kingfisher
Dangerous Creatures by Angela Wilkes
Publisher: New York; London: Kingfisher, 2003
Call no.: J English 591.6 WIL
Click here to view item availability

All Rights Reserved, New York: Power Kids Press
Vampire Bats by Emily Raabe
Publisher: New York: Powerkids Press, c2003
Call no.: J English 599.4 RAA
Click here to view item availiability

Extracted By:

Ms Chen Wanying
Children’s Librarian
Children’s Services