Overview

• Published in PLOS One on August 20, the study documents wing-wrap greetings, tight huddling, play, and voluntary prey transfers in Vampyrum spectrum.
• A motion-triggered camera inside a hollow Manilkara tree recorded 502 one-minute clips over 60 days, with 73 showing clear social interactions.
• Footage indicates a probable monogamous adult pair caring for two offspring, including prey sharing by returning adults and a transfer from the male to a lactating female.
• Researchers also observed bats leaving and returning together, challenging the view that this apex predator forages strictly alone, though cooperative trips remain to be confirmed.
• Experts call the evidence valuable yet preliminary because it comes from one roost, and the team is pursuing diet and vocalization studies alongside comparisons with other sites.