1. Animals that are most active at night D Wood
Nocturnal Animals
Animals that are most active at night
D Wood

2. Contents Using their senses Another trick which helps them Sight
Hearing
Smell
Touch
Minibeasts
Animals that live in the sea
Reptiles
Birds
Bats,hedgehogs and badgers
Cats
Glossary
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3. Using their senses Nocturnal animals are mainly active at night
The darkness gives them some protection from predators.
They usually have super senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste to help them in the dark
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4. Another trick which helps them
Nocturnal animals have another trick to help them stay hidden, camouflage
Dull colours and dappled fur helps them to blend with their surroundings
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5. Sight
Finding your way around in the dark is much easier if you can see well.
Snakes, cats and birds rely on all their senses
At night having huge eyes that can open up wide to let the light in can be helpful. Just look at this Tarsier
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6. Hearing Animals that hunt in the night have to have good hearing
Some have developed large ears to pinpoint noises better.
One animal that can even hear beetle larvae gnawing are bat eared foxes
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7. Smell
Many animals rely on their sense of smell and this is especially true of animals that hunt at night.
Kiwis are birds from New Zealand and they have the best sense of smell of any bird.
The nostrils at the tip of their beaks can sniff out insects and worms
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8. Touch
Nocturnal animals need a good sense of touch to tell them what is around them
Whiskers, hairy snouts and sensitive skin can all help
Whiskers can help tell a harvest mouse if a space is large enough to crawl through
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9. Minibeasts Lots of insects and minibeasts come out when it is dark.
They hide when it is hot in the day time
Predators are less like to see them in the dark
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10. Animals that live in the sea
Some animals that live in the sea also like to hide until it is dark
Eels, horseshoe crabs, angel sharks all like to stay hidden until it is dark
They lie in wait and hide until something comes along.
They use their sense of smell to help them
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11. Reptiles
Most reptiles live in hot countries so have to wait until night falls before they can come out to hunt.
Snakes are super nocturnal hunters as they can feel the heat from another animal’s body
They then use their sense of smell and strike!
Geckos have large eyes which helps them to see in the dark
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12. Birds Owls are one of the most well known nocturnal animals
They sleep during the day and come out to hunt at night.
If you see an owl during the day it will be very sleepy
Other birds like to hunt at night because there are so many insects around and food is easy to find
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13. Bats Hedgehogs and Badgers
Other nocturnal animals that we can see in this country are bats, hedgehogs and badgers
Although bats have good eyesight, they rely more on their hearing and sense of smell
Hedgehogs come out at night to look for worms and insects
Badgers spend most of the day asleep and are perfectly camouflaged for the night
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14. Cats Big cats abroad hunt at night when it is cooler
But nearer to home we find that our own domestic cat likes to roam around and hunt when it is dark
Domestic cats like to sleep during they day but are active hunters at night. They often bring home small rodents or birds.
A bell on the cat’s collar will help to alert other animals and may save them from being killed
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15. Glossary nocturnal: animals that are most active at night time
predator: something that preys on another animal to kill it
camouflage: hidden, a pattern or design that helps an animal blend into the background
gnawing : using its teeth to nibble and bite or nibble at something
nostrils : openings at the end of its nose
snout : a name for an animal’s nose when it is long and sticks out
reptile: an animal that has scaly skin, is cold blooded and lays eggs
rodents: members of the mouse family that usually have sharp teeth and like to gnaw at things
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16. What facts can you remember?
Name six things that you have found out about nocturnal animals
Why are their senses so good?
What nocturnal animals do we have in this country?
Name as many nocturnal animals as you can
Why does a mouse have long whiskers?
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