Why A Vampire Bat’s Diet Is So Odd, And How We Found Out

According to scientists, they have worked out how and why vampire bats are now the only creatures that can live only on human blood.

It was discovered that 13 genes are either absent or no longer function in vampire bats after comparing the genome of ordinary vampire bats to the genomes of 26 different bat species, according to the study. Over time, those gene modifications assisted them in adapting to a blood way of eating that was high in iron & protein but low in lipids and carbohydrate intake.

The majority of animals would not be able to thrive on a low-calorie fluid-based diet, mostly of blood. Only 3 vampire species are known to exist among the 1,400 different species of bats; the rest mostly consume insects, fruit, nectar, pollen, and meat, such as tiny frogs & fish.

Blood is a bad source of nutrition. It is very unusual and astounding how vampire bats can subsist only on blood; they are out of this world, including among bats. Other species, such as mosquitoes, bedbugs, leeches, and fleas, have a voracious appetite for human blood as well. The new work demonstrates how vampire bats vary from even the other strongly linked bats that feed nectar and fruit, according to the authors.

When contrasted to other groups, vampire bats actually did lose 13 essential genes throughout the span of their history, according to the researchers. Of these, 10 were previously unidentified changes.

Vampire bats are unable to survive on a rather low-calorie menu for lengthy periods of time. When pressed for time, well-fed animals may vomit their meal in order to split it with a hungry neighbor. They appear to keep note of who has aided them previously, which is interesting given that vampire bats develop complicated social interactions, as previously stated.

The findings were published in Science Advances.