Safety note: May carry rabies — do not approach or handle.
The Common Vampire Bat is the only obligate blood-feeding mammal that regularly reaches the Mexican border with the United States. It uses heat-sensing pits near its nose to locate blood vessels just beneath the skin of sleeping animals, then makes a small, painless incision with razor-sharp incisors. An anticoagulant in its saliva—draculin—keeps blood flowing while the bat laps it up.
Habitat
Tropical forests, caves, and agricultural areas of Mexico
Diet
Blood of mammals and birds
How common
Very rare
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