Nature’s Vampires: 7 Bloodsucking Creatures You Won’t Believe Exist
Vampirism is an enduring myth in human culture, but certain animal species in nature also practice the most common behaviour of vampires, hematophagy – the consumption of blood as food.
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Vampire bats are the only mammals that feed on the blood of cattle and other livestock.
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Candiru – This parasitic catfish feeds on the blood of other fishes by swimming into their gills.
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Female Mosquitoes – While male mosquitoes have a vegan, nectar-based diet, egg-laying females feed on blood to get protein.
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Ticks – These parasitic arachnids are capable of drinking 600 times their body weight in blood and spread diseases like Lyme disease.
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Lamprey – These primitive eel-like fishes have sharp, hook-like teeth helping them latch onto prey and suck blood, when they reach adulthood.
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Leeches – These vicious, parasitic worms attach themselves to their hosts and feed on blood. They release anesthetics and anticoagulants which facilitate feeding.
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Vampire Finch – These fascinating birds native to the Galapagos Islands usually have a diet of seeds, but sometimes indulge themselves with blood from other seabirds. They pick at wounds on larger birds, enough to keep the blood flowing but not so much as to make the host react.