In another parallel universe or reality, humans are probably vampires who feast on the blood of animals. That totally would not happen in this world… right? Nope, it totally does. It is actually happening in some countries of the world where people are actually killing animals to suck their blood, and they are killing bats nonetheless, of all the animals.
The said country is Bolivia which is full of superstitions from the old traditions of their ancestors. This is all despite the modernization the country has faced. Hence, a lot of people actually believe that bats there have healing properties and use them as medication for a lot of diseases. As such, the country now has a market for people who are buying bats to drink their blood.
Typically, the bat would be obtained alive, their head will then be chopped off, and the diseased person will drink the blood fresh from the neck. Bats are viewed as having “powers” in their blood because they can fly despite not being birds, hence the mysticism.
The most notable disease they think killing bats for their blood can help with is epilepsy. Oddly enough, it is illegal to hunt bats in Bolivia. It isn’t illegal, however, for Bolivians to practice traditional medicine, because that is their right after all.
“The belief is well-rooted within our society, mainly in the Andes. I receive calls requesting bats at least five times a year,” says Luis F. Aguirre, director at the University of San Simon. That is despite the fact that he works at a biodiversity and genetics department of the university and is in no way involved in illegal bat trade.
Of course, scientists and doctors have stepped in to disprove the healing properties of bat blood, especially against epilepsy. They found no proof of any healing property of bat blood, yet, the killing bats still persists in the country for some reason. What do you think of such a tradition? Feel free to discuss in the comments.
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