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Common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) are a key rabies vector in South America. Improved management of this species requires long-term, region-specific information. To investigate patterns of demography and dispersal, we analysed 13 642 captures of common vampire bats in Northern Argentina from the period 1969–2004. In contrast with findings from more tropical regions, we found reproductive seasonality with peak pregnancy in September and peak lactation in February. Curiously, sex ratios were consistently male-biased both in maternity roosts and at foraging sites. Males comprised 57% of 9509 adults caught at night, 57% of 1078 juveniles caught at night, 57% of 603 juveniles caught in roosts during the day, and 55% of 103 newborns and mature fetuses. Most observed roosts were in man-made structures. Movements of 1.5–54 km were most frequent in adult males, followed by young males, adult females and young females. At night, males visited maternity roosts, and non-pregnant, non-lactating females visited bachelor roosts. Males fed earlier in the night. Finally, we report new longevity records for free-ranging vampire bats: 16 and 17 years of age for a female and male, respectively. Our results are consistent with model predictions that sex-biased movements might play a key role in rabies transmission between vampire bat populations.

An area 30 by 50 km was selected for destruction of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus). The area was located in the path of an advancing epizootic of vampire bat-borne bovine rabies which had been moving southward at the average rate of 40 km per year for 14 years. The bats were exterminated in their roosts in water wells with cyanide gas, and the wells were sealed with wire mesh frames. The epizootic did not pass through the control area, but did pass it by to the west. It is concluded that strategic elimination of vampire bats may be used for control of bovine rabies when vampires are the sole vector.