Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Red and Vampire Bats
I was walking in a trail in the woods when it was dark out with my older cousin Shena and came upon some tiny creatures. They were bats. Microbats to be exact. They were two of four different types in the U.S. The Vampire Bat and the Red Bat. At first I couldn't tell them apart. I couldn't tell till I got a closer look at them. As I got closer I could tell them apart more and more. I bet some people did not know how small Vampire Bats are. They are only the size of an adults thumb, and have a wingspan of 8 inches. While the Red Bat are at largest 4 in. and 12 mm., and have a wingspan of 13 inches.
Wow, talk about differences. The Vampire Bat is not a vampire as a bat. Most people would pay no attention to these small creatures. If it weren't for their diet Vampire Bats diet is.... BLOOD! That's right it is blood, but not from Humans. They get the blood from large birds, cattle, horses, and pigs. They don't actually suck the blood of their "victims". Using their sharp teeth, the bats make tiny cuts in the skin of a sleeping animal. The bats' saliva contains a chemical that keeps the blood from clotting. The bats lap up the blood that oozes from the wound. Another chemical in their saliva numbs the animals skin, so they don't wake up. On the other hand Red Bats don't drink blood like a Vampire Bat. They eat insects including, moths, flies, true bugs, beetles, cicadas, and even crickets.
The colors of bats are mostly different. For example the Red Bats' males and females look different, in color any ways. The female Red Bats' fur is predominately orangish to rusty in and color frProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ted with white tips, especially on the back and chest. In contrast, the wing membranes are largely blackish, making for a beautiful pattern to when she spreads her wings. Then the males are just orangish, rusty although the males are a darker rusty than the females. The Vampire Bats' look like Dracula, pale with a red chest. Not that much to it.
They live near the same areas also. They both range widespread across much of North America from southern Canada south through Central America to northern South America; the only places they are not are from the Rocky Mountains and southern Florida. The Red Bats habitat is forests, while the Vampire Bats' habitat is caves and trees occasionally forests.
I love bats so I decided to stay away from them. Also Shena did not in any way like bats. Then we walked back from our little trip in the woods back to our Nana's house. My cousin's Shena, Dylan, Matthew, Ashley, and Sean were are having the best dinner ever with me, Sierra and Jason and all of our parents. Chicken, peas, gravy, corn, cranberry-sauce, and my favorite mashed potatoes.
By:
Danielle
Wow, talk about differences. The Vampire Bat is not a vampire as a bat. Most people would pay no attention to these small creatures. If it weren't for their diet Vampire Bats diet is.... BLOOD! That's right it is blood, but not from Humans. They get the blood from large birds, cattle, horses, and pigs. They don't actually suck the blood of their "victims". Using their sharp teeth, the bats make tiny cuts in the skin of a sleeping animal. The bats' saliva contains a chemical that keeps the blood from clotting. The bats lap up the blood that oozes from the wound. Another chemical in their saliva numbs the animals skin, so they don't wake up. On the other hand Red Bats don't drink blood like a Vampire Bat. They eat insects including, moths, flies, true bugs, beetles, cicadas, and even crickets.
The colors of bats are mostly different. For example the Red Bats' males and females look different, in color any ways. The female Red Bats' fur is predominately orangish to rusty in and color frProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0
ted with white tips, especially on the back and chest. In contrast, the wing membranes are largely blackish, making for a beautiful pattern to when she spreads her wings. Then the males are just orangish, rusty although the males are a darker rusty than the females. The Vampire Bats' look like Dracula, pale with a red chest. Not that much to it.
They live near the same areas also. They both range widespread across much of North America from southern Canada south through Central America to northern South America; the only places they are not are from the Rocky Mountains and southern Florida. The Red Bats habitat is forests, while the Vampire Bats' habitat is caves and trees occasionally forests.
I love bats so I decided to stay away from them. Also Shena did not in any way like bats. Then we walked back from our little trip in the woods back to our Nana's house. My cousin's Shena, Dylan, Matthew, Ashley, and Sean were are having the best dinner ever with me, Sierra and Jason and all of our parents. Chicken, peas, gravy, corn, cranberry-sauce, and my favorite mashed potatoes.
By:
Danielle
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