NEXT UP: 3rd seed Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) vs. 14th seed White Winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi). #2021MMM [bat photo via @inaturalist] 
Chimpanzees live in rainforest, woodland, & savannah habitats across equatorial Africa & are one of the most intensively studied primate species. They are very closely related to humans, sharing ~99% of our DNA. #2021MMM [map via @NGKids; illustration via anthroillustrated.com]
Chimpanzees' genus name comes from Pan, the Greek god of the wild, often depicted carrying a flute or pipes. The pant hoot, a frequent chimp vocalization, is less melodic but equally recognizable. #2021MMM [Image: 'Pan Reclining' by Rubens, via @ngadc]
Male chimpanzees, at up to 70kg (318 stoats), are ~ 40% larger than females & have large canines for fighting rival males. Related males form the core of a chimpanzee community & have strong social bonds. #BroCode #2021MMM
Weighing only 45g (0.2 stoats) & no more than 85mm long (0.25 stoats), white winged vampire bats (WWVB) are found in Mexico & Central/South America. They are one of only 3 vampiric bat species (out of >1400 species). #StoatsAsMeasurement #2021MMM
Like another well-known vampire, WWVB "never drink....wine." Instead they are 100% reliant on blood, drinking "close to half [their] body weight in blood at each meal." #OhTheHumanities #2021MMM
Unlike Common Vampire Bats, which feed mostly from mammals, WWVB feed primarily from birds. Because they are "silent and their bites are painless," they are able to lap up seeping blood at their leisure, often without being noticed at all. #2021MMM batcon.org/article/lure-o…
As Chimpanzee has #HomeHabitatAdvantage, this battle takes place in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, where field studies of chimpanzees have been ongoing for over 60 years. #2021MMM [photo via JaneGoodallInst]
It's late afternoon & Chimpanzee has been foraging alone (individuals or small groups of chimpanzees often separate temporarily from the larger community). His belly full of figs & other fruit, he is thinking about building a sleeping nest & settling down for the night. #2021MMM
Chimpanzees construct a new nest each night, a task that "involves bending and breaking stiff stems and interweaving it with foliage to create a thick, bouncy mattress-like structure." (@RachelNuwer) #2021MMM [photo credit @KathelijneKoops] smithsonianmag.com/science-nature…
Chimpanzee climbs a tree & begins to gather foliage around himself. #2021MMM
As he reaches for more leaves, Chimpanzee unintentionally startles WWVB! Unable to find a cavernous roosting site in this unfamliar forest, WWVB had been resting underneath a branch. #2021MMM
Chimpanzee swats at the newly emerged WWVB, who "emits a strange hissing vocalization and a fine spray of musky-smelling liquid" from "a pair of cup-shaped oral glands that project forward when the bat is agitated." #2021MMM [description from #ActualLivingScientist @draculae]
But the tiny WWVB is not spoiling for a fight. Chimpanzee watches as WWVB flaps its wings and flies into the canopy of another tree nearby...#2021MMM
...where it is PROMPTLY SNATCHED AND EATEN BY A BLUE MONKEY!!! #CurveballCarnage #2021MMM pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27138290/
Though chimpanzees will hunt various monkey species, they are more likely to do so in large groups. This troop of monkeys did not view our lone male Chimpanzee as a threat, but *did* view WWVB as a tasty snack! #2021MMM
Little does the Blue Monkey know that WWVB can harbor & pass on infectious pathogens, including rabies and Chagas disease... #Zoonoses #2021MMM ajtmh.org/view/journals/…
CHIMPANZEE SPOOKS WHITE WINGED VAMPIRE BAT!!! #2021MMM
If you are #TeamBat & disappointed by this outcome, try soothing yourself with the Pan-like Puck's advice:
"If we [narrators] have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear."
#MidsummerNightsDream #2021MMM #RIPBat
"If we [narrators] have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear."
#MidsummerNightsDream #2021MMM #RIPBat
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