ABSTRACT
The first Spanish colonists in the New World often wrote about vampire bats. In Darien, just south of Panama, Fernandez de Oviedo wrote that many soldiers died as a result of bat bites in 1514, 1 and vampire bats in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico were reported to have attacked the animals and troops of Francisco de Montejo in 1527. 2 Cattle epizootics attributed to vampire bites were reported during the 16th century in Guatemala, 3 during the 18th century in Ecuador, 4 and during the 19th century in Trinidad. 5
