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The social life of vampire bats: How do they form strong friendships through sharing food?
The vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is a small bat native to the Americas that feeds on blood. As one of a few species of vampire bats, it feeds primarily on the blood of farm animals and is often considered a pest. Although these bats are known for their nocturnal foraging, their social behavior reveals unexpected friendships, particularly when it comes to sharing food.
This social behavior allows vampire bats to form an inseparable bond in their struggle for survival.
Common food sources
Vampire bats feed primarily on the blood of mammals, particularly cattle and horses. They cut the host's skin with their sharp teeth and lick the blood with their long tongues, usually while the host is asleep. Access to this food source not only determines their foraging behavior, but also affects their social interactions.
Food Sharing
Food sharing is a very important behavior in vampire bat communities. When a bat fails to find food, its companion will take the initiative to spit out the blood it has taken and share it. This behavior not only prolongs the survival of each other, but also deepens the relationship between them.
Such food sharing behavior is not unconditional, but involves social norms of kinship and mutual help.
Social structure
The social structure of vampire bats is quite interesting. When choosing to share with others, they usually prefer relatives, which reflects their reproduction strategy. According to the study, food sharing most commonly occurs between mother bats and their pups, while among other sharing behaviors, up to 70% of food sharing events occur between relatives.
Reciprocal Behavior
Food sharing isn't just based on blood ties, though. Mutualistic behaviors between bats also play an important role. The amount of food bat A gives bat B often depends on how much bat B previously gave. This reciprocal relationship allows vampire bats to form stable social bonds within the colony.
Social interaction isn’t limited to food
In addition to food sharing, the sociality exhibited by vampire bats also includes mutual cleaning behavior, that is, grooming each other's hair. Such behavior not only serves to maintain cleanliness, but also strengthens social relationships. The study showed that during grooming, one bat will note the size of another bat's abdomen to determine whether it needs food, which is another layer of friendship.
Relationship between humans and vampire bats
Although vampire bats feed on the blood of livestock, their impact on humans is no less significant. Vampire bats can carry rabies, and while most bats do not contract the disease, the health risk still exists, especially for livestock. Nevertheless, the anticoagulant substances in vampire bat saliva have shown potential in medicine and have been used to treat stroke patients.
ConclusionThe social life of vampire bats is a topic full of surprises. How they build deep relationships through mutual food sharing and social interaction undoubtedly makes people think in new ways about these often stigmatized creatures. . Does this teach us that the value of friendship and mutual help is equally important in life?
