IT'S TINY TUESDAY

This is the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus); this one lives with his brethren at the zoo in Milwaukee, but is native to Central and South America including some southern U.S. States, such as Texas.
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You've heard that they SUCK blood!  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  They have very sharp teeth and make a shallow bite, much like a scrape, into the skin of warm blooded mammals and birds.  Their saliva contains a blood thinner, an anti-coagulant (Draculin....no kidding)  which retards blood clotting.  As the blood pools in the shallow bite, the bat laps it up with its tongue much like a dog laps up water.  It doesn't suck blood at all....it drinks it.
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Here's a link to everything you need/want to know about vampire bats:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_bat

For the curious, a YouTube video of the bats in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RostZvdoLM
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