Sanguivore (noun, “SANG-wi-vor”)
A sanguivore is an animal that eats blood.
Some species survive on blood alone. They are called obligate sanguivores. Bedbugs, ticks and vampire bats are examples.
Other species drink blood to supplement their diet. Or they drink blood only at certain stages of their life. Part-time blood drinkers are called facultative sanguivores.
Consider mosquitoes. They usually eat plant nectar. But female mosquitoes need the protein in blood to help them mature their eggs.
Oxpeckers are another example of part-time vampires. These birds perch atop grazing rhinos and zebras in the African savannah and pluck ticks from the animals’ hides. They also lap up blood at the wound site where the tick was. Sometimes these birds pick open old wounds on the animal’s hide for an extra blood snack.
Blood doesn’t have many Read Entire Article
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