Vampire+bat

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=**__Husbandry Information__**=

Notes on Enrichment & Training


=__Programmatic Information__=

Potential Messaging

 * Compare with other species to dispel common misconceptions and fears. Bats are peaceful animals that provide many vital services to humans and to the rest of the ecology. Fruit-eating bats are important seed-dispersers for many plants including avocados, cashews, dates, and figs; that’s the scientific way of saying that they eat the seeds with the rest of the fruit and then poop them back out in little piles of fertilizer as they fly around, helping new plants to grow. When bats take nectar from flowers, pollen gets transferred from one flower to another on their fuzzy faces in a process called cross-pollination. A few of the commercial products that depend on bat pollinators for wild or cultivated varieties include: bananas, peaches, durian, cloves, carob, balsa wood, and the agave cactus which is used to make sweeteners and tequila. Small, insect-eating bats eat many damaging night-flying pests such as the cotton bollworm which attacks important crops like cotton, artichokes, and watermelons. Basically, if you like eating food, thank a bat. There are 32 species of bats that live in Texas. To help them find a place to live, install a bat house on your property. []

=__Acquisition Information__=

=__Comments from the Rating System__=
 * Buffalo Zoo: Usage is limited to those specially trained and rabies vaccinated. This species is small and must be displayed inside a carrier, but it does have some "wow" factor as a sanguinivore. Fresh bovine blood is delivered weekly for our main collection colony. Colony management can be difficult due to social hierarchy disputes.

=__Natural History Information__=

Threats and Conservation Status
=__Did you know…__=

=__Photographs__=

=__Contributors and Citations__=
 * Houston Zoo, Natural Encounters

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 * //Activity Schedule: diurnal, nocturnal, crepuscular//
 * //Continent of Origin//
 * //Diet Requirements: carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, etc.//
 * //General Habitat/Biome: deserts, forests, mountains, etc.//