Amateur Photographer Travels To Puerto Rico To Help Sample Bat Population

August 22, 2025

Elena Vanassea-Torres spent the summer of 2010 with a conservation team to sample bat populations in the (northern) karst belt of Puerto Rico. This is an area faced with imminent destruction due to the industrialization of the area.

We met Elena at a recent craft fair and she offered to share some pictures of her trip. She used a Canon DSLR Rebel XS with the attached fixed lens and managed to get some great pictures, we hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

One of the photos shows the opening of a cave referred to as Cueva Ventana. The red bat is an insect eater, while the small gray one eats mainly fruit. At nightfall, the boas come out and prey on the bats. Also attached is a photo of a snake catching a bat amidst the swarm of others. Enjoy!

Elena Vanassea-Torres,

You can see more of Elena photos at www.evtphoto.com

opening of a cave referred to as Cueva Ventana

Boa snake feeding on a bat

Categories: Bats, Events