Salt Lake Telegram | 1933-12-04 | Page 3 | N. Y. Zoo Officials Elated as Volga Has Offspring

AT N. Y y Zoo Officials Elated As Volga Has Offspring Only Vampire Bat in Captivity ity Attracts Interest of Biologists NEW YORK 4 What lP F What with repeal ju just t around the corner and Colonel Lindbergh flying oceans again New Yorks York's populace was caught completely unaware today tody by byan byan byan an unusual occurrence at the Bronx residence of Volga the Vampire Volga Is the thc proud mother of ot a a abrand 1 brand new offspring a baby vampire bat The event was enough to throw the thc entire personnel of the Bronx zoo into a frenzy of delight I The bab baby is the spitting Image of its mama mama mama-a a Un tiny leering bulldog face protruding lower lip Up sharp fangs fan sa A little rat body covered with thick shiny silver gray fur and wings claw with a inch four spread Vampire bats are arc rare and Raymond Ray mond L. L Ditmars curator declared Volga's baby is js worth its weight in gold Vol Volga n herself was captured by Arthur Arthur Ar Ar- thur of the University of Michigan nearly at the cost of ot his life in the Chilibrillo caves in the valley valley val val- ley icy of Chagres Panama Almost nothing noth noth- in ing Is known of the vampire bats bat's habits and the baby vampire is considered considered con con- by Ditmars as of great scientific importance Volga is the only one of her kind In a Q zoo The newborn bat detailed the curator has a wingspread of four inches is about the size of a mouse and was active from the moment of birth It crawls on its moth mothers mother's rs r's back feeds like Uke a 1 human baby and squeaks 5 z fr Raymond L. L Ditmars Ditman like a a. mouse mouse mouse- though the sound Is Ismore Ismore more prolonged than mouse squeaks He explained that the bat gets geu its name of vampire from the fact that it lives on warm warm- blood In Panama its native habitat it feeds on horses and cattle and often otten on sleeping per per- sons At the zoo the mother has been fed daily on blood o obtained fresh from the city abattoirs and 5 separated sop sep p- p In a centrifuge Volga herself has a wingspread of 14 inches and large visible fangs Her Hr wings as as' as is the vampIre the vampire bat custom are used much as stilts when she walks around on her victims with a feathery tread that insures her a high degree of secrecy