Vampire Bats
Vampire bats, which primarily feed on livestock or other vertebrates, must obtain a meal every 48–72 hours or face starvation. On a given night, there are individuals that do not successfully feed. Fortunately for them, a successful individual may regurgitate their meal for the unsuccessful individual. In order for this trait to have persisted through evolutionary time, a level of recognition is necessary among individuals. An altruistic bat may refuse to regurgitate blood for another bat that has not given blood to others in the past. The mechanism for this reaction is not known.
Read more about this topic: Reciprocal Food Sharing
Famous quotes containing the words vampire and/or bats:
“I am the wound and the knife!
I am the slap and the cheek!
I am the limbs and the rack,
And the victim and the executioner!
I am the vampire of my own heart.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)
“A woman drew her long black hair out tight
And fiddled whisper music on those strings
And bats with baby faces in the violet light
Whistled, and beat their wings
And crawled head downward down a blackened wall....”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)