About – Bear Bones

I am a scientific illustrator with a strong background in conservation science. My research revolves around brown bear habitat modelling and monitoring.

My PhD research and my job as a GIS instructor fuelled my love for ecological modelling techniques and all things maps.

My experience working in higher education and research for over five years has taught me that science needs to be shared in more innovative and creative ways in order to communicate the complex messages it conveys. I am now using my academic skills and illustration skills to do exactly that for scientific figures, infographics, nature-inspired tattoo designs and many other exciting projects.

Currently working between Bristol, UK and Panagitsa, a small village in the north of Greece, where I come from.

Scientific specialisations

GIS analysis (ArcGIS Pro, qGIS, R Studio)
Map design
Habitat suitability modelling
Species distribution modelling
Occupancy modelling
Species non-invasive monitoring
Environmental DNA (eDNA) and Invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) techniques
Brown bear ecology
Statistical analysis (R Studio)
Academic writing and supervision of research projects

Affiliations

Scientific specialisations

GIS analysis (ArcGIS Pro, qGIS, R Studio)
Map design
Habitat suitability modelling
Species distribution modelling
Occupancy modelling
Species non-invasive monitoring
Environmental DNA (eDNA) and Invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) techniques
Brown bear ecology
Statistical analysis (R Studio)
Academic writing and supervision of research projects

Affiliations

Scientific specialisations

GIS Instructor

2019-2023

Academic GIS instructor, writing and running courses for all academic levels and research staff at UWE, Bristol.

GIS technician

2016-2017

Developing and supporting GIS courses for undergraduates at UWE, Bristol.

Technical support for field practicals, dissertation projects, lab work and tropical expedition in Madagascar.

PhD Researcher

2017-2022

Brown bear habitat modelling and further development of a novel non-invasive monitoring method – Invertebrate-derived DNA(iDNA). UWE, Bristol.

Conservation Biology BSc(hons)

2012-2016

Undergraduate degree in applied conservation and wildlife ecology with a tropical expedition in Madagascar.

Placement with Callisto NGO, Greece, on bear tracking and monitoring.

Dissertation on habitat connectivity for brown bears.

Mountains and waves of ferns for @prlintott 🏔️🌊🌿
Thank you for trusting me to design and ink this important piece for you and for your patience sitting through these billion lines!
The only human I can set a tattoo appointment for + a business meeting about future conservation research projects in the same time slot. That was beyond fun!
🙏

Marina’s pomegranate ❤️ @marinakaufmanner, t

Marina’s pomegranate ❤️ @marinakaufmanner, the woman, the legend, the only person that hovers between being sleepy and being tickled instead of being in pain when being tattooed.
Thank you for giggling and making this so fun 🌄

💀 happy little dead head 💀 #bearbonesillust

💀 happy little dead head 💀
#bearbonesillustrations #bearbones #skull #tattoo #skulltattoo #tattooartist #skullart
www.bearbonesscience.com

Kiki - my petite cow, and her adopted bro, whose d

Kiki - my petite cow, and her adopted bro, whose default photo face is a mixture between the look of a person whose brain is filled with candy floss, and the face British people make when they bump into each other in the corridor #beentheredonethat
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#bigdogs #rescuedpgs #kikithesheepdog #sheepdog #greeksheepdog #bigdogsofinstagram #rescuedontbuy #greece #greekvillage #villagelife

Happy World Bear Day! Here is where the bears I ca

Happy World Bear Day! Here is where the bears I care deeply about call home. Data from a report on European large carnivore distribution in 2012-2016 by Kaczensky et al. 2021.
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#bearconservation #worldbearday #everydayisbearday #bearecology #greece #greekwildlife #wildgreece #conservation #wildlifeconservation

🌄www.bearbonesscience.com🌌 The last few wee

🌄www.bearbonesscience.com🌌

The last few weeks me and my siblings have been looking after my grandma who is not very well. When she feels better, she watches the church channel - top volume.
That’s when we have time to work on our work things. This took a long time to make, but I now have a website (and know how to make one from scratch). All my art and science is in there and I am very excited to share it with you all.
World, meet Bear Bones Science. Puns, bears and all the rest of my favourite things, all in one web space.

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#gisanalyst #scientificillustration #scicomm

The last few weeks me and my siblings have been lo

The last few weeks me and my siblings have been looking after my grandma who is not very well. When she feels better, she watches the church channel - top volume.
That’s when we have time to work on our work things. This took a long time to make, but I now have a website (and know how to make one from scratch). All my art and science is in there and I am very excited to share it with you all.
World, meet Bear Bones Science. Puns, bears and all the rest of my favourite things, all in one web space.
www.bearbonesscience.com
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#freelance #scientificillustration #scientificillustrator #sciencecommunication #scicomm #gis #gisanalyst #artandscience

This our bear land in the north of Greece. Fresh s

This our bear land in the north of Greece. Fresh snow today - these tracks were only a couple of hours old. If you are ever around my neck of the bear woods, message me and I’ll take you to their favourite paths.
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#outdoors #wildgreece #greeceinwinter #snow #snowday #bear #beartracks #bearconservation #bearresearch #ecology #outdooradventures #wildlife

The last few days of the huge adventure with @thom

The last few days of the huge adventure with @thom_92_ looked a bit like this - a snow-covered mountain, after weeks of Australian summer. Thom, what a great joy you bring to my life! Thank you for all the things we discovered together and for all you are.

Thom returned back to the UK and I will follow later this month. For the next few weeks I will be spending a bit more time with my siblings, planning exciting things for the future and figuring out our next steps, individually and as a youth centre @spiresporo. Lots of work ahead, both for my own career and what we hold together as a family. We are very happy to have connected again after all these years working and studying abroad.

As I am slowly making plans to move back to Greece, all I have learnt from my years away and all the people that have contributed to my journey are in my heart. So much inspiration to put together and form into my next chapter in life. Thank you 🙏
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#mountainviews #wildgreece #greece #greekvillage #smalldog #puppymeetssnow #snow #snowday #snowpeak #hiking #snowhike #mountainlife #outdoors

Reunited with my beloved buffalo 🤍. . . . . . #

Reunited with my beloved buffalo 🤍.
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#greeksheepdog #greece #greekmountains #mountain #mountains #dogsofinstagram #bigdog #bigdogsofinstagram #sheepdog #mydog #largedogs #wildgreece #villagelife

The cloudy Seven Mile beach and all its beasts 🐚
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#sealife #seabirds #oystercatcher #piedoystercatcher #sevenmilebeach #australia #australianseaside #australianbeach #nsw #newsouthwalesaustralia #escapethecity #stopitwiththerain

The big views and small details of this place will

The big views and small details of this place will be an art inspiration for us for years to come. Our hikes take twice the expected amount because we can’t walk five meters without finding some moss or a flower, hearing a bird, breathing in the beauty or having to take a photo of a bunch of lichen. All these will form colour palettes for future projects, both for me and for @greengoblinstudio.
I am so grateful to have this time here, exploring places and finding all sorts of creatures, on my search for wombats. That’s what it’s really all about.
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@thom_92_ #australianwildlife #australia #australianviews #wildaustralia #wildadventures #outdoors #outdooradventures #lichen #moss #mushrooms #tropicalforest #colourpalette #artinspiration

I have this feeling of numbness you get when you s

I have this feeling of numbness you get when you see something so incredible, your brain goes on slow-motion processing for the rest of the week. And it was caused by fungus gnats, of all things.
Thank you, you house plant menace relatives! 🌌
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#glowworms #newnes #glowwormtunnel # hiking #trails #hitthetrail #australianwildlife #australia #australianwilderness #wildaustralia #hikingadventures #exploretheworld #exploretheoutdoors #outdoors #outdoorspace #galaxy #scientificillustration #scicomm #sciencecommunication #scicommers #sciencefacts #ecology #invertebrates

This country is stunning and wild. I am so happy t

This country is stunning and wild. I am so happy to have the time to explore it and meet so many different creatures every day. Fully in my element, with a bird ID book in one hand and the knowledge that I know zero things about birds in the other, @thom_92_ and I are experiencing this like two little excited scouts.
Today we met a lyrebird that was in the middle of playing all its bird song mixed cassette tapes and I didn’t know I could laugh so much while being in awe at the same time.
And these majestic rocks are the three sisters - a whole 1.5 of them! Because the one day we decided to go somewhere to see world class views, the weather does this: 🌫️

#australia #bluemountains #australianationalparks #nationalpark #katoomba #threesisters #threesisterswilderness #wildaustralia #outdoors #outdooradventures

Good to be back! For the whole of last week this a

Good to be back! For the whole of last week this account was hacked and run by someone in a different country, who used this time to message all my friends and post about cryptocurrencies. They went all the way - even posting photos of a Greek-looking villa and congratulating myself for buying a house with all my newfound money. Unfortunately for me, the only house I could afford this year was a small Lego house for my niece.

Here is what actually happened in my life this week:
1. I completed my last bit of teaching for UWE and I had the most heart-warming goodbye from staff and students.
2. Found this bear necklace that, once you see it as a handcuffed bear, you just can’t unsee it!
3-5. Enjoyed the wonderful @opa.rosa and was very grateful to be on the stage with them and @chook_falla @ti_krima for a bit.
6-7. It snowed! And the gorgeous Aussie loves snow just as much as I do.
8. I learnt how to weave with a tiny portable loom kit by @jopeakecreates
9. I felt watched the entire time because it’s a terrible feeling to know you have been hacked.

Hope you are all well and please ignore any messages about an influencer program. Not at all my thing, and you are all vibrant enough to influence yourselves! I’m also not cool enough to say things like ‘m8’ and ‘bro’.

Yours truly,
Me-the real me-the one with the greek accent and the big fat dog

“He won’t bark, but he will want to be really

“He won’t bark, but he will want to be really close to you”.
I see..
#dogvideos #dogsagainstfireworks #dogsofinstagram #guyfawkes #guyfawkesnight #guyfawkesfireworks #fireworks #fireworkhater #dogreel #doglife #dogsitting #dogsitter

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