Relato do morcego vampiro comum (Desmodus rotundus) predando capivara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

• Autor(a) principal: Soinski, Thais Aparecida
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Outros Autores: Bernardo, Renan Henrique, Stefani Pinheiro, Lucio Antônio, Severino Stefani, Marta, Cavallari, Daiane Elen, Rodrigues Carvalho, Beatriz Regina, Gazzola Prieto, Beatriz Carine, Senteio Smith, Welber
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biodiversidade Brasileira
• Texto Completo: https://revistaeletronica.icmbio.gov.br/BioBR/article/view/2357
• topic: Comportamiento alimentario; Chiroptera; hematofagia; Comportamento alimentar; Chiroptera; hematofagia; Foraging behavior; Chiroptera; hematophagy

When evaluating different groups of capybaras in areas along the Paraíba do Sul river, in the municipality of São José dos Campos, an individual of Desmodus rotundus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) was recorded through photos and videos preying upon a capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris). Different reports of the interaction of this species with tapirs, wild deer, wild pigs, wild boars, cattle, and horses are observed, but with the capybara, only one mention was found in Anchieta Island/SP, and Brazil. In addition to staying under the capybara’s paws to feed, the vampire bat was also seen jumping along the ground in an attempt to follow the individual and licking the blood on just one of its paws when it stopped feeding. The population density of D. rotundus is generally high in areas with domestic animals, especially cattle. Land use change has converted natural ecosystems into grasslands, which may have increased vampire bat populations due to the abundance of prey. The increase in populations of capybaras in urban areas in recent decades may increase populations of hematophagous bats, requiring further studies of this interaction, in addition to verifying the risk of rabies cases, taking into account domestic animals and humans that share the same areas.