Could There Be Real Monster Bats?

Summary

February 26, 2009: This short article mentions potential vampire variants in Nicaragua - including the chupacabra, comelenguas, and Desmodus draculae.

It also says an exterminator (well, actually, it calls him a vampire hunter, but I think they mean exterminator) working for the Nicaraguan government claims to have caught a vampire bat with a five-foot wingspan in mountains of northern Nicaragua in 2002. It's likely to have been a Vampyrum spectrum, a rare predator bat that commonly has a 3-foot wingspan.

See Also:

• Nicaragua's Vampire Problem

Source

Bibliography

1. Original Article at Time Magazine

Game and Story Use

• The article suggests Chupacabra sightings might actually be Desmodus draculae - a prehistoric giant vampire bat that could perhaps be a living fossil.
• For another strange vampire of South America see the Patasola.
• Global Warming or deforestation could lead to these huge blood-suckers having more interaction with humans.
• Here's a campaign idea: Run an espionage game set in Nicaragua, and then surprise the players with Genre Drift by adding vampires a couple sessions in. You get a Vampire - CIA - Sandinista three-way power struggle.
  • Worth looking up for the espionage, politics, and guerilla warfare elements:
    • Set in the 1970s or 1980s: Iran-Contra Affair, Sandinista, and Somoza family
    • Set in the 1930s: United States occupation of Nicaragua, Augusto César Sandino, and Social Bandit