In many parts of Latin America, when night falls, vampire bats emerge.
Vampire bats are known for sucking the blood of living animals.
As the climate warms, they are spreading further north. Virginia Tech wildlife biologist Luis Escobar said they could soon arrive in the United States
Escobar: “We anticipate that this species will arrive in the United States and that we will notice its presence within the next five to 20 years.”
This is concerning because vampire bats are carriers of rabies, a fatal disease.
Escobar: “When they bite their prey, they transmit the virus to their prey.”
Therefore, as bats spread northward, animals in the southern United States may be at risk of infection.
Escobar said vampire bats tend to avoid urban areas, helping to reduce the risk of rabies in cities.
But he said bats could spread the disease in more rural areas of the southern United States, where game animals such as deer, feral hogs and farm animals are plentiful.
The region's massive cattle industry will be particularly vulnerable.
So, he said, it's important for livestock owners to vaccinate their animals against rabies to help stop the deadly disease even as vampire bats spread north.
Report source: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
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