fieldnotes
Images
Illustrating Bats
A BCI intern creates beautiful depictions of bats and their habitat
TO COMPLETE her scientific illustration certificate from California State University of Monterey Bay, Kristen Burroughs spent the summer of 2022 interning for Bat Conservation International. She spent 40 hours a week examining bats—usually from photos or videos—sketching them and creating stunning illustrations depicting them.
Common vampire bat
“My favorite bat to draw is the common vampire bat. They have such unique features since they have evolved to survive on blood alone and have a very specialized mouth and body structure.”
–Kristen Burroughs
–Kristen Burroughs
Common vampire bat
Bracken Cave
“My favorite part about my BCI internship was the opportunity to connect with the amazing people that work every day to protect bats and seeing the Mexican free-tailed bats of Bracken Cave. During the science illustration program, one of my big projects was constructing a large cutaway block of Bracken Cave. It was a difficult task, having never been there in person, relying only on photos, videos and maps. Being able to then visit Bracken Cave in person was an amazing end to my internship with BCI. I couldn’t believe just how large Bracken Cave is. Also, seeing the millions of bats flying out of the cave and then returning the next morning was an experience I will never forget.”–Kristen Burroughs
Bats and their diets
One of Burroughs’ projects was illustrating a set of five bats eating, showcasing the species and their diets. She started by studying a list of bats documented at the 2022 Belize “Bat-a-thon” and researching the bats and their diets. Then, she looked for photos or videos showcasing the bats and their feeding habits.
“Once I collected all of the visual information that I could find, I had to create an original illustration,” Burroughs says. “I did this with acrylic and colored pencil and depending on the feedback I got from the scientists, I could digitally alter the illustrations if needed.” –Kristen Burroughs
Keep up to date on the latest opportunities to work with BCI at batcon.org/about-us/job-opportunities
Great fruit-eating bat
Big-eared woolly bat
Commissaris’s long-tongued bat
Greater sac-winged bat
Nimba myotis and Lamotte’s roundleaf bat
“The most challenging bats to draw were the ones with very few photo references, such as the Nimba myotis and the Lamotte’s roundleaf bat. These are some of the Endangered bats that I had the opportunity to illustrate digitally.” —Kristen Burroughs
Nimba myotis
Lamotte’s roundleaf bat