As their name suggests, vampire bats need to consume blood often to stay alive. Female vampire bats roost in groups, and when some bats aren’t able to get a meal, others in the same group will regurgitate their own meals to share! Research revealed that females who shared meals with an extensive network of nonrelatives were more likely to receive meals in return than those with a less extensive, more family-based network. Sometimes, in the animal world, it pays to have friends!

 Sketch contributed by Amelia Munson and fact contributed by Lindsey Broadus

Sources: Carter, G. G., & Wilkinson, G. S. (2015). Social benefits of non-kin food sharing by female vampire bats. Proc. R. Soc. B, 282: 20152524. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2524

Shaffer, L. (2016, August 25). Blood Sisters: What Vampire Bats Can Teach Us about Friendship. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/blood-sisters-what-vampire-bats-can-teach-us-about-friendship/#