Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
  • Home
  • About
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Press
  • Guest Info
    • Accessibility
    • Calendar
    • COVID Guidelines
    • For Kids >
      • Coloring Pages
      • Zoo Patrol
      • Zoo Tots
    • Our Animals >
      • Eastern Rat Snake
    • Our Plants
    • Parents
    • Zoo Cams >
      • Outdoor Red Panda Cam
      • Indoor Red Panda Cam
      • Outdoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Indoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Otter Cam
    • Zoo Etiquette
    • Zoo Map
  • Membership
  • Education
    • Citizen Science >
      • FrogWatch
      • MonarchWatch
    • Conservation >
      • City Nature Challenge
      • Conservation Pledge
    • Cool Blue >
      • Cool Blue Schools
    • Programs
    • Educational Resources
    • Evening Lectures
    • Field Trips
    • Just 4 Teens >
      • CDC
      • Explorers
    • Teachers
  • Support
    • Animal Sponsorship
    • Appeal
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Gift Guide
    • Honor & Remember
    • Monthly Giving
    • Naming Opportunities
    • Wish List
  • Parties, Rentals & Weddings
    • Birthdays
    • Private Events
    • Weddings
    • Rates and Details
    • Preferred Vendors
    • Preferred Wedding Vendors
    • Event Guidelines
  • Volunteer
    • Interns
  • Buy Tickets

Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus)

Picture

Description:

Common Vampire Bats are small, furry grayish-brown bats with lighter brownish bellies. They range from just 2.75 to 3.5 inches in length, have a wingspan of up to 15.75 inches and weigh just 1.2 ounces. They have large eyes, a rounded nose, pointy ears and very sharp teeth.

Habitat:
Warm climates from deserts to rainforests.

Range:
Mexico through Central America to South America to Argentina and Chile.

Diet:
Fresh blood of large, warm-bodied animals. Sometimes fresh blood from other creatures.

Life Span:
On average, 9 years in the wild. Up to 20 years in zoos.

Family Life:
These bats typically live in colonies of between 20 to 100 animals but may range up to 5,000. Vampire Bats give birth to one or two young after a 7-month gestation. Young can be born any time of year. At first, mothers feed their young milk but will begin feeding them regurgitated blood at two months of age. By four months, they young join mom on her nightly hunts. At five months of age, they are full grown.

Status:
Although Vampire Bats are still common in most areas of their range, their populations must be closely monitored because they are threatened by unrestricted hunting.

Seven Myths & Truths About Bats
​Common Vampire Bats are the only mammals in the world known to feed exclusively on the blood of their prey. Normally, that prey includes sleeping warm-blooded creatures such as pigs, cattle, chickens or even humans but recently, some Vampire Bats have been recorded drinking the blood of toads, snakes and crocodiles — now that’s one dangerous meal! Contrary to popular belief, these animals do not suck blood but make a small incision with their razor-sharp teeth and lap up the flowing blood. They have a chemical in their saliva which is 20 times more powerful than the most effective anti-clotting medicines! Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is very happy to welcome Common Vampire Bats. Our colony is located in our Rainforest in their very own private, cozy, cave exhibit (complete with stalactites and stalagmites)! Please stop by and say “Hello” to these fascinating creatures of the night.
Picture
Rainforest Building open daily from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm
PRESS
JOBS
CONTACT US
EN ESPANOL
​203-394-6565
​info@beardsleyzoo.org 
1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06610
Open 9am-4pm daily
​Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is dedicated to acquainting a diverse public to the delicate balance that exists between living things and their environment.

Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a 501(c)(3) not for profit owned and operated by the Connecticut Zoological Society.

2019 Kids Out and About #1
Association of Zoos & Aquariums
Connecticut - Still Revolutionary
Weekly Best of Fairfield County Readers' Poll 2014
FC Buzz Events - Arts & Culture of Fairfield County
© 2022 Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
  • Home
  • About
    • Blog
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Press
  • Guest Info
    • Accessibility
    • Calendar
    • COVID Guidelines
    • For Kids >
      • Coloring Pages
      • Zoo Patrol
      • Zoo Tots
    • Our Animals >
      • Eastern Rat Snake
    • Our Plants
    • Parents
    • Zoo Cams >
      • Outdoor Red Panda Cam
      • Indoor Red Panda Cam
      • Outdoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Indoor Spider Monkey Cam
      • Otter Cam
    • Zoo Etiquette
    • Zoo Map
  • Membership
  • Education
    • Citizen Science >
      • FrogWatch
      • MonarchWatch
    • Conservation >
      • City Nature Challenge
      • Conservation Pledge
    • Cool Blue >
      • Cool Blue Schools
    • Programs
    • Educational Resources
    • Evening Lectures
    • Field Trips
    • Just 4 Teens >
      • CDC
      • Explorers
    • Teachers
  • Support
    • Animal Sponsorship
    • Appeal
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Gift Guide
    • Honor & Remember
    • Monthly Giving
    • Naming Opportunities
    • Wish List
  • Parties, Rentals & Weddings
    • Birthdays
    • Private Events
    • Weddings
    • Rates and Details
    • Preferred Vendors
    • Preferred Wedding Vendors
    • Event Guidelines
  • Volunteer
    • Interns
  • Buy Tickets