Latest News

  • Home
  • Global
  • Vampire bats 'French kiss with blood' to form lasting bonds
Vampire bats 'French kiss with blood' to form lasting bonds
Thursday, April 2, 2020 IST
Vampire bats

Vampire bats establish friendships by sharing regurgitated blood with their neighbours in a "kind of horrifying French kiss", a new study says.

 
 

Researchers observing the mammals said their sharing behaviours appeared to be an important aspect of their bonding.
 
If bats go three days without eating, they can die of starvation, so sharing the blood can be a life-saving act.
 
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, aimed to determine how the species developed relationships.
 
It found that when the vampire bats became isolated in a roost, pairs unfamiliar with one another - but in close proximity - would begin grooming, then "mouth-licking" before swapping food.
 
"We go from bats starting as strangers from different colonies to groupmates that act to save each other's life," said Prof Gerald Carter, author of the study and behavioural ecologist at Ohio State University.
 
"They have this 'boom and bust' foraging experience, so they either hit it big and get a large blood meal or they're starved for that night.
 
" Food sharing in vampire bats is like how a lot of birds regurgitate food for their offspring . But what's special with vampire bats is they do this for other adults," Prof Carter said.
 
He added that the bats would groom even after their fur had been cleansed, suggesting that the behaviour was not just an issue of maintaining hygiene.
 
Vampire bats are the only mammals to feed entirely on blood, which they get by biting larger animals such as cattle.
 
The flying creatures can drink up to half their weight in blood a day, unlike their other bat relatives, which generally dine on fruit, nectar or insects.
 
In November, a scientific study discovered that bats that form bonds while in captivity often continue their relationships when released back into the wild.
 

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 199K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Horrifying Acts of Chemical Warfare and Gas Attacks

In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...

Recently posted . 3K views . 4 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Best Gym Equipment Brands in India 2018

Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...

Recently posted . 3K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Global

 Article
Big Data-based online health calculator can predict heart disease risk, heart age

Scientists have developed a novel online health calculator using big data, that can help people determine their risk of heart disease as well as their heart age. Th...

Recently posted. 641 views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Could Male Love Robots Replace Men For Good?

It’s most likely that you’ve already heard about female love-dolls. People have been so obsessed with them that they even made love-robots which a man c...

Recently posted. 829 views . 2 min read
 

 Article
"His Methods Are Trade Secret": Travel Agent Gamed Delta Of $1.75 Million

Delta's SkyBonus program allows businesses to collect points when their employees travel with the airline that can be spent on flights and other airline perks.<...

Recently posted. 713 views . 1 min read
 

 Video
10 Greatest Oscar Winning Movies



Recently posted . 1K views
 

 Photo
Top Honeymoon Destinations in India



Recently posted . 2K views
 

 Reviews
Leaseweb hosting review



Recently posted . 1K views . 67 min read
 

 Article
Not good enough: Mothers don’t spend enough quality time with their children

The results gave light to the truth that young mothers do spend considerable time with their children, but due to various distractions - the time cannot be counted ...

Recently posted. 672 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Scientists Explain What Happens To Your Body When You Sit For Too Long

These are the times where most of the work is done by machines and we spend lesser times in manual labor. Apart from the work, leisure activities have reduced to a ...

Recently posted. 833 views . 2 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think of what could go right.
Anonymous

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top