Transporting common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) by land: Design of a transport container and care during transit

Introduction:

To comply with biosafety regulations for the transport of wild-caught common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) by land from San Luis Potosí, Mexico to Madison, Wisconsin, USA, we designed a unique container that allowed for feeding (with bovine blood) while maintaining a sealed environment and preventing escape of animals or potential sources of infectious materials (e.g., spills, aerosols).

Methods:

The container was designed by modifying a commercially available mouse transport container and installing a tube/syringe system that allowed delivering and retrieving the blood during the feeding session and cleaning afterward. We transported 93 vampire bats in ten transport containers with no more than ten individuals per container.

Conclusion:

During transit, the vampire bats acclimated well to the novel environment and were able to access blood during feeding. Although one bat was found dead on arrival, the remaining 92 were transported without complications and deposited at a biosafety level 3 facility once in the U.S.