Vampire bats earned their ghoulish name because they are the only known mammals to survive completely on the blood of their prey. But while fictional vamples feast on the blood of humans, the vampire bat rarely attacks people. Instead, it prefers to feed on sleeping livestock such as cows, pigs, and horses. And unlike its namesake, the vamplre bat doesn't actuatly suck the blood of its victims. Instead, it uses heat sensors in its nose to find an appropriate spot on the animal's body, then makes a tiny cut in the skin with its razor-sharp teeth and laps up the blood as it exits the wound. The vampire bat's saliva contalins a unique protein (creatively called draculin) that prevents blood from clotting, thus allowing the bat to feed for longer amounts of time. In fact, vampire bats are so light and unobtrusive that they have been known to feed for more than thirty minutes at a time without waking up their prey. In order to remain Ight enough to fyy, the vamptre bat doesn't store targe amounts of extra energy the therm of fat.

For this reason, it must feed at least once every two days, or it will starve. Because of their potentially fragile existence, vampire bats create strong social bonds. At times, they will offer their own food to other bats in their group, known as a cauldron, who are unable to hunt for themsefves. Biotogists have even withessed femate vampire bats feeding a new mother for up to two weeks after the birth of her pup. Additionally, vampire bats can often be found grooming one another while hanging upside down in tight groups. In addition to helping the bats stay warm and clean, researchers have found this practice atso retaxes the bats. As their feeding and grooming practices demonstrate, vampire bats are highly sociable and interdependent creatures. They might seem frightening at first, but they're not the blood-sucting monsters that their name suggests. Reatty, they're fust fascinating animat's that love to "hang out" with their friends.

Which statement best describes the sicture of paragraph 3?
a. It explains how vampire bats locate their prey, and then it explains the techniques they use while feeding.
b. It identifies a myth about the preferred food of vampire bats, and then it explains how the myth originated.
c. It notes that vampire bats drink blood, and then it explains how the bats differ from vampires.
d. It describes what vampire bats eat, and then it compares their diet to the diets of various livestock.



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