The blog below is totally true. This is not a fictitious dramatization.
When I saw the blood oozing from those two little skin pricks I was horrified. Here was one of my beloved companions totally oblivious to the vampire attack.
Movie capture : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NosferatuShadow.jpg Shadow of Count Orlock, in the film Nosferatu
I had several thoughts at once: "How do I stop this from happening to the others? ; What kind of treatment is available? ; Will I be able to find the vampire bats that did this?"
Yes, Vampire Bats.
For those of you in Central or South America, vampire bats attacking livestock--cows, pigs, or horses--is not uncommon. We know they are there, we hear about an animal being attacked, or see it on National Geographic or Discovery. But when I spotted the first bite on my beloved horse Sugar I thought, "Oh No".
Over the next couple of days all but one of the horses at my pasture had been bitten, at least once. The only horse that seemed to escape was my little "Stinker"--could be the bats recognized a tough bite also. So the on line and networking research began. The more I dug in to the internet, through University studies, the more horrified for the horses I became. Until I received a couple of e-mails from a friend who has lived in Panama his whole life; and also has cows and horses. And also from a web site in Costa Rica explaining about the habits of the vampire bat.
The legends are true, they do come out during the full moon, and attack livestock. They can spread rabies to the animals that have been bitten, so vaccinating against rabies is essential. Thank goodness all of our horses have been vaccinated. Another source explained that a bite from a non-rabid bat is no more serious than a mosquito. I have to say that the blood dripping down the horses neck makes one think it is a little more serious than that.
But the treatments advised by my friend and the helpful site in Costa Rica have, for now, stopped the onslaught.
This is the treatment that seemed to help:
1. Dab the wound with Hydrogen-Peroxide, to stop any infection
2. Wash around the area with Alcohol to remove any urine left by the bat. After biting they urinate so they can find their way back to the same great spot the next night.
3. Apply Gel Vampirisan around the wound, to repel and kill them once they clean themselves. I guess they spend a lot of time cleaning.
4. Spray the target areas with Iodine. It seems that they don't like the taste or smell. Spray neck, butt, legs,...
So far this seems to be working. Unless they have just gone back to the bat cave until the next full moon.
PS: I have also heard that the local farm ministry, MIDA, during a full moon, will come out and do a capture for free.
This has all just been a little too creepy for me.
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