Posted by Vampire Bats: Compassionate bloodsuckers
In this essay I will talk about vampire bats and their red blood cells and protein draculin. The course objective covered by this project is from unit 11: Identify various components of blood and key structural components. There are over 1,400 bat species in the world and make up 22% of all mammals. 3 of which are vampire bats the Desmondus rotundus (common vampire bat), Diphylla ecaudata (hairy-legged vampire bat), and Diaemus youngi (white winged vampire bat) (Taylor, 2019). These bats are found throughout central America into South America and primarily feed on the blood of large mammals, birds or livestock. They rarely feed on humans and there are a few direct threats to humans contrary to the stigmatized beliefs on bats in general (Bat Conservation International, 2023).
Vampire bats do not directly drink the blood of their prey but rather use their incisors to make a small cut that they lap up the blood from. One thing that makes vampire bats incredibly unique is the presence of the Draculin protein. Draculin is found in the saliva and works as an anticoagulant that prevents the blood from clotting. They also have a special molecule called Desmondus salivary plasminogen activators (DSPA). These enzymes form molecules called plasminogens that will break up the clots. This activator is actively being tested as a potential treatment for acute ischemic stroke patients. Tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) is the drug that is used currently to break up clots in acute ischemic stroke patients. tPA cannot be administered after 3 hours of the stroke without risk of an additional brain injury and has shown to have some inherent neurotoxic properties. As well as causing an increase of systemic plasminogen consumption and fibrinogenolysis. DSPA on the other hand is dependent on fibrin and there are no increases of systemic plasminogen consumption or fibrinogenolysis. Phase III studies are underway on this potential treatment after positive results of human tests. There are also no inherent neurotoxic properties present after administration. One of the most prospective benefits to using DSPA instead of tPA is that it can be administered 9 hours after onset symptoms occur (Grandjean et al. 2004). Other molecules in the saliva can help to kill microbes in the blood and widen the blood vessels which allows for more blood to flow from the wound (Brokaw, 2025).
Vampire bats consume about 2 tablespoons of blood each night and cannot go more than 2 days without feeding (ZooAmerica, n.d.). Blood dry mass is made up of mostly proteins and very little lipids and carbohydrates. Since there are little carbohydrates being consumed D. rotundus have lower basal insulin levels and reduced glycogen and lipid storage (Blumer et al 2022). These lower levels of basal insulin, glycogen and lipids are the cause of the short fasting window and strong social bonds within the colonies. Vampire bats are social animals that can build strong social ties within their colonies. If a bat in their colony is unsuccessful in feeding another bat in the colony might share some of the blood by regurgitation (Goldman, 2020). This sharing can lead to strong emotional bonds between the bats if the favor is returned or other favors are performed like grooming.
Vampire bats are listed as least concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and have a stable population but there are many threats like loss of habitat and persecution that have led to the decline of vampire bats and other bat species (World Land Trust, n.d.). Vampire bats can carry rabies like any bat, but it is rare. In North America only 1% of bats have rabies (National Park Service) but due to stigmatized beliefs of bats many bats are killed out of fear of having rabies and there is little protection for bats. Bats as a species are incredibly important to our ecosystem and more needs to be done to protect these amazing creatures.
Works Cited:
Blumer, M., Brown, T., Bontempo Freitas, M., Luiza Destro, A., Oliveira, J. A., Morales, A. E., Schell, T., Greve, C., Pippel, M., Jebb, D., Heckler, N., Ahmed, A-H., Kirilenko, B. M., Foote, M., Janke, A., Lim, B. K., Hiller, M. (2022). Gene losses in the common vampire bat illuminate molecular adaptations to blood feeding. Science Advances. 8(12), https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm6494
Brokaw, A. (2025). The weird and Wonderful world of bats: Demystifying these often-misunderstood creatures. Timber Press.
Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus). World Land Trust. (2024). https://www.worldlandtrust.org/species/mammals/common-vampire-bat/#:~:text=The%20IUCN%20Red%20List%20of,in%20the%20spread%20of%20rabies
Common vampire bat. ZooAmerica. (n.d.). https://www.zooamerica.com/animals/common-vampire-bat/#:~:text=Out%20of%20nearly%201%2C000%20species,central%20Chile%2C%20Argentina%20and%20Uruguay.
Desmodus rotundus. Bat Conservation International. (2023). https://www.batcon.org/bat/desmodus-rotundus-2/
Goldman, J. G. (2020). Blood Ties: Vampire Bats Build Trust to Become Food-Sharing Pails. Scientific American https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/blood-ties-vampire-bats-build-trust-to-become-food-sharing-pals/
Taylor, M. (2019). Bats: An illustrated guide to all species (M. D. Tuttle, Ed.). Smithsonian Books.
U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Rabies (U.S. National Park Service). National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/rabies.htm
Grandjean, C., McMullen, P. C., & Newschwander, G. (2004). Vampire bats yield potent clot buster for ischemic stroke. The Journal of cardiovascular nursing, 19(6), 417–420. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005082-200411000-00014
I was happy to see that I was given your assignment to read! You did an amazing job of discussing a topic that is interesting as well as informative. I like how you went into detail on the bats feeding patterns. Especially how you discussed the different molecules present that allows them to continue feeding, and explained its relevance to us humans and scientific advancement.
Great work!