Vampire Bats Habitat

There is a huge misconception regarding the natural dwelling of vampire bats. Due to horror movies and common misconception, especially that of Dracula, many believe that vampire bats are found in Central Europe, this is entirely untrue. They do not live in Central Europe; instead they live in South and Central America.

The three vampire bat species, the Common Vampire Bat, the white winged Vampire bat, and the Hairy legged vampire bat are all confined to Central and South America. Despite this, there are fossil indications that thousands of years ago, the vampire bat population was more widespread. There have been fossils found as far north as West Virginia and North California. Now, with the exception of captive animals, vampire bats have never been found outside the new world.

Common Vampire bats usually roost in hollows, and they may usually be found in caves, hollow trees, and buildings. The bat will leave its roost just after dusk, setting out to find a meal. Radio trackings of the vampire bat have found that a foraging vampire bat will return to the general area where it has found prey before. The bats will return to their caves once they are finished with their night out.

Because Vampire bats live in central and South America, you can imagine just the type of environment that they live in. Their habitat consists of tropical and subtropical forests, as well as temperate scrubs and woodlands. With that said, it can be safe to say that any bat found in your backyard is not a vampire! So there is no reason to be afraid of any “blood sucking” bat in North America. They do not live there, although, even if they did, they are nothing to be afraid of!