Vampire attacks

Rabid vampire bats kill in Brazil.

Health authorities in northern Brazil are trying to cope with a wave of attacks on humans by vampire bats infected with the deadly rabies virus. Rabies caused by bat bites has killed 23 people in the last two months.  It is not the first wave of attacks by vampire bats in the Amazon, but Brazilian authorities say this latest outbreak is unusually serious.  Some experts are blaming deforestation in the Amazon region for this latest wave of attacks.  Sixteen people died of rabies after being bitten by bats in an area of marshlands in the northern state of Maranhao.  Seven more died in another part of the state.

The bats "drink the blood of other mammals while they are asleep."  These attacks have all taken place at night.  I remember going out to Silent Pool just outside Guildford, sitting on an old WWII octagonal concrete pillbox at dusk and watching the bats fly around in the field catching bugs.