1
submitted 1 year ago by Nepenthe@kbin.social to c/bats@lemmy.world

New research has shown that vampire bats form social bonds by sharing freshly drained blood with unfamiliar members of their roost. It might sound desperately gross, but this behavior is showing scientists that vampire bats are incredibly prosocial animals.

"Food sharing in vampire bats is like how a lot of birds regurgitate food for their offspring. But what's special with vampire bats is they do this for other adults, eventually even with some previous strangers," Gerald Carter, lead author of the new study and assistant professor of evolution, ecology, and organismal biology at Ohio State University, said in a statement.

no comments (yet)
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
there doesn't seem to be anything here
this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
1 points (100.0% liked)

Bats

1336 readers
1 users here now

Bats are cool

Bats are the only true flying mammals. There are over 1,400 species of bats, and they can be found on nearly every part of the planet. Not only are they cute, they are also important...

Studying how bats use echolocation has helped scientists develop navigational aids for the blind. Without bats’ pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control we wouldn’t have bananas, avocados, mangoes, agave, or cacao… that’s right, bats bring us tequila and chocolate!

Found a bat in need of help?

Celebrate bats with us!

Our community's mascot is Baxter. Baxter is an Egyptian fruit bat that was cruelly kept alone and confined to a small cage for 12 years before being rescued by a bat sanctuary. You can read the full story by clicking on his name.

Our rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Everyone should feel welcome here. Hateful or bigoted language will not be tolerated.

Don’t post anything a fruit bat would not approve of.

Please don't hate on bats in this community (this includes all of your edgy covid humor).

Bats don’t like spam.

Related Communities

Community Feedback and Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, please send a message to the current moderators. Any feedback on the community should also be sent to the moderators.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS