Day is night for 40 vampire bats haunting a picture window at the Louisville Zoo [4], the room intentionally set to a gauzy twilight to ensure lively bats for a non-nocturnal public. Every afternoon at 2:30, visitors have a chance to witness the closest thing to Dracula this side of literature. A small back door to the exhibit opens, revealing a partial human — a torso and hands — setting out eight saucers of an inky-red liquid. A few gory drops spill, similar to those employed by horror movie directors inching toward the dismal reveal of a freshly slain body.
Some bats kamikaze from high corners; others fold their leathery wings close to their mouse-like bodies and perform a crooked little hobble over to the spread. Once there, they use their grooved tongues to lap up the goods, much like a cat or dog, until about a tablespoon is consumed.
It’s a bit more leisurely than nature’s way. Out there in the real nighttime, in their native Central and South America, these airborne prowlers scan for sleeping prey — say, a farm animal or monkey or the big toe of an outdoorsman not fully cocooned in a sleeping bag. Once perched, razor-sharp fangs slit the skin, releasing a bit of anesthetic to numb any pain. With blood flowing, it’s time to lick, lick, lick — more kid on an ice cream cone than bloodsucker of Gothic design. An anti-clotting substance in the bat spit prevents the wound from clotting or healing. Substance name: Draculin.
Every three weeks, the zoo picks up three to four gallons of cow blood from a local butcher to feed their colony. It’s kept frozen until a few hours before feeding time, when the blood thaws in hot water, much like a mother warming a baby’s milk bottle. Added chemicals include sodium citrate, a sort of manmade Draculin that keeps the blood oozy and fluid. No blood Jell-O on the menu for these pampered vampires.
This originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Louisville Magazine under the headline “Out for Blood.” To subscribe to Louisville Magazine, click here. [5] To find us on newsstands, click here. [6]