In real life, as we all know, there are plenty of animals that actually feed on blood. There are vampire bats, birds, fish, leeches, mosquitoes, fleas and
lots of other creatures that live on the blood of others. Most of them appear
to be parasites rather than predators. And of course there are also those animals
that through folklore, superstition or fiction have a supposed connection
with vampires.
Here is a link to an interesting site that is all about blood-drinking animals: http://www.darkbanquet.com/
The site is run by Bill Schutt whose book "Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures" is supposed to come out on October 14, 2008.
David E. Brown :
"Vampiro - the vampire bat in fact and fantasy" [1994]
High-Lonesome Books, Silver City, New Mexico, USA, 1994 -
pp.142
ISBN 0 944383 22 X
This book seems to cover most of the things that you might want to know about
vampire bats. From the real living creature to superstition, from mythology
to Count Dracula.
Louis Gallien :
"Le Parasitisme" [1943]
Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 1969 - pp.128
John & Molly Hines :
"The secret world of Bats" [1986]
Methuen, London, UK, 1986 - pp.64
ISBN 0 416 49040 9
Nice introduction to bats and to bat preservation written by a couple of
amateur naturalists from Wales.
Brendan Lehane :
"The Compleat Flea" [1969]
John Murray, London, UK, 1969 - pp.126
G. Osche :
"Die Welt der Parasiten" [1966]
Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 1966 - pp.160
Not a bad introduction, in case you'll ever need one, to the wonderful
world of parasites.
Nicholas J. Saunders :
"Animal Spirits" [1995]
Macmillan Reference Books, London, UK, 1995 - pp.184
ISBN: 0 333 63846 8
Very nicely illustrated little book that offers an amazing lot of interesting bits and pieces.
Uwe Schmidt :
"Vampirfledermäuse" [1978]
Westarp Wissenschaften, Magdeburg, Germany, 1995 - pp.100
ISBN 3 89432 176 8
The author has done an incredible job, getting so many scientific facts about
vampire bats into such a small book. Highly recommended !
Wilfried Schober & Eckard Grimmberger :
"A Guide to Bats of Britain and Europe" [1987]
Hamlyn Publishing Group, London, UK, 1989 - pp.224
ISBN 0 600 56424 X
A nice guidebook with a lot of useful information and illustrations, that
lists all different European species of the bat.
Gunter Steinbach (ed.) :
"Geheimnisvolle Fledermäuse" [2000]
Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany, 2000 - pp.38
ISBN: 3 440 08404 3
Among other things, this book gives you information on bat protection and
preservation. There are instructions on how to build bat boxes. As a
bonus there is a CD with the sounds of 60 different kinds of bats.
A. M. Voûte & C. Smeenk :
"Vleermuizen" [1991]
Uitgeverij Waanders, Zwolle, Netherlands, 1991 - pp.160
ISBN 90 6630 268 2
An interesting and informative book with lots of brilliant images of bats, some of them taken from rare old paintings and sketches.
© 2008 by Rob Brautigam - NL - Last update 26 October 2008 - Link last checked 01 September 2008
photo: "Vampyrum Spectrum - preserved in alcohol" - © 1990 by Rob Brautigam
