Where Do Vampire Bats Live? Range in Mexico and South America

Range of the three vampire bat species

All three blood-feeding bats belong to the American tropics and subtropics. None live in Europe, Africa, Asia or Australia.

The common vampire bat is the most widespread and by far the most numerous. It is found in every mainland country from Mexico to Argentina, and in southeastern Brazil it is among the most frequently caught bats. The hairy-legged vampire bat reaches up to about 1,900 m (6,200 ft) in elevation, and the white-winged vampire bat is widespread but seldom encountered.

Where does the common vampire bat live in Mexico?

In Mexico the common vampire bat lives along both coasts and through much of the warm lowlands and foothills, from the Gulf states and Yucatán to the Pacific slope. Its northern limit lies roughly 280 km (170 mi) south of the US border, in states such as Sonora and Tamaulipas.

It can also live surprisingly high in the mountains. Records reach about 2,400 m (7,900 ft) above sea level, but the bat avoids areas with cold winters. Its northern boundary roughly follows the line where average January temperatures stay above about 10 °C (50 °F).

Why only warm regions?

The reason is energy. Blood contains very little fat, so vampire bats store hardly any reserves and cannot hibernate like many bats in Europe and North America. A common vampire bat that fails to feed for about two or three nights can starve, which is one reason roost-mates share blood meals with each other.

Cold weather makes this worse, because a small mammal burns energy quickly just to stay warm. Vampire bats therefore depend on warm, often humid climates where they can feed year-round. They live in both moist and fairly dry tropical regions, including rainforest, dry deciduous forest, scrubland and open grassland, as long as winter nights stay mild.

Where do vampire bats roost?

During the day, vampire bats hang in very dark, sheltered places. Common roosts include:

• Caves and rock crevices, often in the deepest, highest and darkest spots.
• Hollow trees, especially in lowland forest.
• Mines, wells, culverts and tunnels.
• Abandoned houses, churches and other buildings near farms.

Common vampire bat colonies usually hold about 20–100 bats, although roosts with thousands have been reported. They often share caves with dozens of other bat species, taking the darkest places for themselves. Roosts can be recognized by a strong smell of ammonia and dark, tar-like droppings from digested blood. Hairy-legged vampire bats usually roost alone or in small groups, often in caves and mines.

For comparison, many other bats choose quite different homes; see Where do bats live?

Vampire bats and cattle country

The common vampire bat has adapted extremely well to farming. Before Europeans arrived, it fed on tapirs, deer, peccaries and other wild mammals. Since cattle, horses, pigs and goats were introduced from the 1500s onward, these animals have become its main food, and vampire bats are now often most numerous where ranching is widespread and roosts are nearby.

This is why vampire bats are found both in remote forest and close to villages and farms. A bat usually feeds within about 5–8 km (3–5 mi) of its roost, so a cave or old building near pastures makes an ideal home. It is also why the bats are a concern for farmers: they spread rabies to livestock across much of Latin America. Read how they feed in Do vampire bats really drink blood?

Could vampire bats spread to the United States?

Vampire bats are not new to North America. Fossils show that vampire bats, including the larger extinct species Desmodus stocki, lived in parts of the southern United States during the Ice Age. Today, the only US record of a living vampire bat is a single hairy-legged vampire bat found in an abandoned railroad tunnel near Comstock, Texas, in 1967, far north of the species’ normal range.

Some scientists have used climate models to ask whether warmer winters could make parts of northeastern Mexico, southern Texas or Florida suitable for the common vampire bat in the coming decades. Because the bats can carry rabies, US agricultural and wildlife agencies have watched the question closely. So far, however, there is no breeding population of vampire bats in the United States, and none in Canada or Europe.

Do vampire bats live on islands?

In the Caribbean, the common vampire bat lives only on Trinidad and Venezuela’s Margarita Island, both close to the South American mainland. Fossil and bone remains show that a vampire bat once lived on Cuba, but no vampire bats live there today. They are absent from the Galápagos, Hawaii and other remote islands.