Zoo’s vampire bat colony adds 3rd baby since June
Posted on Sunday, August 24, 2008
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It has a face and fangs only a mother could love.
A vampire bat born Wednesday night takes to three the number of baby bloodsuckers at the Little Rock Zoo, rounding out the colony to 15 animals. The oldest of the three new arrivals was born June 15. The other was born June 23, zoo spokesman Susan Altrui said.
Seven of the flying mammals have been born since 2006, when the colony was started with four males and four females, Altrui said.
“The vampire bats are a fascinating species of animal because they are the only mammal that drinks blood. We’re proud to have them at our zoo and are happy that they are living productive lives and fruitfully multiplying,” she said.
The newborns and a pregnant female were discovered by zoo staff while Marilynn Baeyens, the zoo’s veterinarian, and two keepers were giving annual rabies vaccinations to the bats and microchipping them for identification. Because babies rest under their mother’s wing, they are sometimes hard to see, Altrui said.
After a seven-month gestation period, newborns are completely dependent on their mother — resting under her wing and nursing for more than eight months before learning to eat on their own. After weaning, mothers will feed the babies regurgitated blood until the offspring can feed themselves.
Native to Central and South America, vampire bats have a fearsome reputation but are actually small creatures with a wingspan of about 8 inches and a body about the size of a human thumb, Altrui said. Though they feed on blood, they rarely choose humans, opting instead to get their nourishment from large birds, cattle, horses and pigs.
Zookeepers say the best time to catch a glimpse of the baby bats is during the bats’ daily feeding at 10: 30 a. m. when the colony is provided dishes of cattle blood.