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Vampire bats sprint on treadmill as study shows special way they use blood for energy

Vampire bats are excellent runners and researchers have shown how their metabolism has adapted to work in a different way to most mammals.


Vampire bats have been put on a treadmill as a study showed the special way they use blood for energy - as well as how quickly they can run.

Footage shows one bat using its wings to sprint along inside a plastic box at up to 30 metres per minute.


    

What is Outbrain

The vampire bat is one of only a few species that can manoeuvre skilfully on land.

It uses this ability to quietly approach sleeping prey, such as cattle, pigs and chickens, before making an incision with its razor-sharp teeth.



Twenty-four vampire bats were captured from Belize and fed enriched cows' blood for the Canadian study.



Researchers looked at the carbon dioxide they exhaled on the treadmill and found traces of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

The ratio of CO2 to oxygen (respiratory exchange ratio) stayed the same at all speeds.




    


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