Human depredation by vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) following a hog cholera campaign.
Hog cholera control efforts in Belize in 1975 included the slaughter of village pigs, a primary food source for the vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus). The bats then fed on secondary food sources, including humans. In 1 village, 22% of the families interviewed were exposed to attacks: 17 children and 2 adults were bit. Human depredation was not continuous as Desmodus located other hosts.
McCarthy
T J
TJ
Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, New York.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001531:Belize; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000502:physiology; D006691:Classical Swine Fever / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D013552:Swine