Do Bats Really Drink Blood ?

Bats are always compared and associated with vampires, halloween and other scary things but did you know that not all bats drink blood. In fact the shape of the bat’s skull can indicate the food it eats ?

The bats with thicker jaws and bigger teeth eat hard-shelled insects such as beetles, these bats are called insectivores. The other bats with thick jaws but with blade-like teeth prefer hard fruits, such as figs and are called frugivores.

The bats with longer skulls and hence bigger brains prey on other animals and are carnivores. The bats with long but narrow skulls like to eat nectar and are called nectarivores whilst the bats with long snouts are sanguinivores. The long snout houses the tongue that is used to lap up blood. So although some bats do drink blood, a large majority don’t.