Five Reasons to Love Vampire Bats

They have a scary name and they're not to be taken lightly. But vampire bats pose a small risk to people, and an infinitesimal one to Americans?rabid dogs and other kinds of bats are much more of a rabies threat. Admired from afar, they're some of the most amazing creatures on the planet, and they could even hold secrets to new drugs and treatments for humans. By Douglas Main

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Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a 19-year-old man died of rabies he had contracted from a vampire bat, making it the first documented case of rabies from this animal in the U.S. Actually, the migrant worker was bitten in his native Mexico, about 10 days before traveling to a sugar cane plantation in Louisiana to work, according to a CDC investigation following his death on August 21, 2010.

Subsequent news reports suggested that vampire bats are moving into the U.S. and constitute a significant threat to people. In fact, neither statement is true. And while vampire bats aren't to be taken lightly, there are plenty of reasons to admire them, including complex social networks, deadly hunting skills and naturally producing chemicals that could become valuable human drugs. Not bad for a bunch of blood suckers.

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