BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Vampire Bat Facts

Vampire Bats Facts

The vampires Melissa Marchellis encounters in Bryony have much in common with vampire bats. Both flee when the victim awakens, and both contain saliva with particular properties: a numbing agent and an anticoagulant to allow the blood to freely flow. The similarities, however, end there.

Unlike the vampires in Bryony, vampire bats never attack and, when they do regurgitate a meal, it’s to share their food with a vampire bat that didn’t get one that night. Vampire bats, said Sharon Peterson, elementary school teacher, librarian, and bat expert trained by Bats Conservation International, roost in very tight colonies and display caring behavior toward each other. Adult bats, for instance, will groom other bats.

Other vampire facts Peterson shared include:

· There are three species of vampire bats: common vampire bat, hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat. All three live in Latin America ranging from Mexico to the southern areas of South America. They do not live in Europe.

· Two species of vampire bats drink mainly from the blood of birds. The other drinks the blood of mammals.

· Vampire bats can run short distances before leaping into flight.

· Vampire bats ignore the fatty areas of their victims. Instead, they settle on areas where blood vessels are close to the surface. That would be the feet in birds, on the hooves or near the tails for cows, and the fingertips for humans.

· Scientists are experimenting on ways to use the anticoagulating properties in vampire bat’s saliva as an alternative to traditional blood thinners. Unlike these medicines, the anticoagulant in bat saliva targets only clots.

· Vampire bats are very shy. They will not come near a victim that is awake.
· Vampire bats are not carnivorous. Other bats might scoop up a lizard or mouse and fly away with it, but not vampire bats.

For over ten years Sharon Peterson, along with her husband Dan Peterson and their two Egyptian fruit bats, has been giving presentations on bats. Sharon and Dan are both licensed through the USDA as Class C exhibitors. To schedule a presentation or for more information on bats in general visit http://www.incrediblebats.com/.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

Vampire Bats Facts

The vampires Melissa Marchellis encounters in Bryony have much in common with vampire bats. Both flee when the victim awakens, and both contain saliva with particular properties: a numbing agent and an anticoagulant to allow the blood to freely flow. The similarities, however, end there.

Unlike the vampires in Bryony, vampire bats never attack and, when they do regurgitate a meal, it’s to share their food with a vampire bat that didn’t get one that night. Vampire bats, said Sharon Peterson, elementary school teacher, librarian, and bat expert trained by Bats Conservation International, roost in very tight colonies and display caring behavior toward each other. Adult bats, for instance, will groom other bats.

Other vampire facts Peterson shared include:

· There are three species of vampire bats: common vampire bat, hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat. All three live in Latin America ranging from Mexico to the southern areas of South America. They do not live in Europe.
· Two species of vampire bats drink mainly from the blood of birds. The other drinks the blood of mammals.
· Vampire bats can run short distances before leaping into flight.
· Vampire bats ignore the fatty areas of their victims. Instead, they settle on areas where blood vessels are close to the surface. That would be the feet in birds, on the hooves or near the tails for cows, and the fingertips for humans.
· Scientists are experimenting on ways to use the anticoagulating properties in vampire bat’s saliva as an alternative to traditional blood thinners. Unlike these medicines, the anticoagulant in bat saliva targets only clots.
· Vampire bats are very shy. They will not come near a victim that is awake.
· Vampire bats are not carnivorous. Other bats might scoop up a lizard or mouse and fly away with it, but not vampire bats.

For over ten years Sharon Peterson, along with her husband Dan Peterson and their two Egyptian fruit bats, has been giving presentations on bats. Sharon and Dan are both licensed through the USDA as Class C exhibitors. To schedule a presentation or for more information on bats in general visit http://www.incrediblebats.com/.

Some Traditional Vampire Lore

Despite the current craze for urban and contemporary vampires, my favorite vampire stories were written before the earliest part of the twentieth century. So, for Bryony, I drew heavily on traditional vampire lore. Then, I compiled it into one “book” that Melissa reads after she encounters her first vampire, since, other than movies, she doesn’t know much about them.

Some of the “facts” I’ve learned through the years and woven into the story include:

· Vampires are former humans who need fresh blood to survive.
· Vampires most commonly, although not exclusively, target a victim’s neck.
· Vampires often pursue one person, especially if that person is a young girl.
· Vampires must rest in their original burial ground by day.
· Vampires may create new vampires, who become their slaves.
· Those destined to become vampires include the seventh son of a seventh son, illegitimate children, those born with a caul, teeth, fur, or extra digit, and those that die from suicide or murder.
· Vampire bodies show little decay. They have sharp teeth, foul breath, and pale faces.
· Vampires can change shapes, even mimicking ghosts.
· Vampires possess keen senses, formidable strength, and fantastic speed.
· Vampires are resistant to disease. They possess wisdom, hypnotic skills and sexual charm. They control animals and elements. They read minds.
· Direct sunlight, prolonged blood deprivation, driving a wooden stake through its heart, and decapitation by a silver blade are the best methods for killing vampires.

Next week, Sharon Peterson of Incredible Bats (http://www.incrediblebats.com/) will share the real truth about the much-misunderstood vampire bat.