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Entries for March 2017

Feral pigs, vampire bats, and infectious diseases in rural Brazil

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Feral pigs, vampire bats, and infectious diseases in rural Brazil
(March 23, 2017)   -   A new study examines the impacts of invasive feral pigs, a favorite prey of vampire bats, on ecosystems in rural Brazil. The distribution of feral pigs — which are also known as wild boars, or “javali” in Portuguese, and are actually the same species as the domestic pig (Sus scrofa) — has increased five-fold since they were first recorded in Brazil in 2007.A group of Brazilian researchers found that not only might populations of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) explode as...

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