Are There Any Bats That Like To Drink Human Blood? | Atlanta Wildlife Control

February 21, 2017 | Posted In: General

Are There Any Bats That Like To Drink Human Blood? | Atlanta Wildlife Control

We have all heard of the vampire bat and how they love to drink blood, but that is animal blood right? Certainly not human blood. Most people assume that the idea of bats drinking human blood is the stuff for horror movies. Everyone knows that bats do not have a taste for human blood. However, Brazilian researchers would claim otherwise, as they have discovered a type of bat that prefers the taste of human blood, perhaps even more so than the blood of their natural prey.

All existing literature on the feeding habits of the vampire bat says that the they mostly prefer to feed on birds, but the hairy legged vampire bat, Diphylla ecaudata, is by far the most rarely seen of the three species of vampire bat.

After scientists analyzed the DNA from bat excrement, or guano, they found that human DNA was present in the guano of many hairy legged vampire bats. Well, at least the one bat that sucks human blood is almost never seen anywhere, so your chances of meeting a hairy legged vampire are pretty low, unless they cast Steve Carell as the lead in the upcoming Twilight sequel of course.

Had you ever been told by a respected educator that bats never drink blood?