How to Draw a Sheath-Tailed Bat

In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Sheath Tailed Bat in 8 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.

The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.

Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.

At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Sheath Tailed Bat.

Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.

How to Draw a Sheath Tailed Bat - Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Draw the head, two triangles (ears), two eyes, and a "u" for nose

Step 3: On both sides at the bottom, add a thin, bent leg

Step 7: Draw a line bewteen the legs to "connect" the rest of the wing together

Interesting Facts about the Sheath-Tailed Bat

These bats occur only in the Seychelles Islands of the African Union. This is a 115-island country that is located east from the shore of mainland Africa. A hundred years ago, they used to be very common in this region. Unfortunately, their numbers have dwindled significantly, leaving only three islands as host to any amount of the sheath-tailed bat population. They are classed as critically endangered, with fewer than one hundred estimated left in the entire world. Their population has become endangered because of the cultivation of coconut palms in their native habitat, as well as invasive plant species moving in that have culled the population of insects that they can eat. They are a very small species of bat, weighing less than half a pound, and are known to roost in the cracks and crevices of houses and caves. They may hide in other spots that are cleverly camouflaged by the large palm leaves of neighboring trees.

Did you know?

• Like most bats, the sheath-tailed bat is nocturnal, coming out at night to feed on insects.
• Colonies of this bat are divided into groups of numerous females and one male. This is called a harem.
• They require numerous roost sites that are located in healthy, thriving habitats. This is because they are very vulnerable to having their roosting grounds disturbed.
• This bat can live for up to twenty years.
• They only grow up to 2.6 inches in length.

This flying mammal has sac-like wings that are not very long, about the length of its small body in total wingspan. The males of this species try to impress females by fighting each other, which is why so many male bats will be seen with injuries on their tails or posteriors. Silhouette Island, one of the three Seychelles Islands that still harbor this bat, have the largest population of them in the entire world.