Some animals with the extrasensory adaption use echolocation to navigate and find food—bats for example. Bats release a high-pitched sound that bounces off objects, including prey.
The echoes tell the bat how far away the objects and prey are. Some snakes have heat-sensitive sensory receptors that, like echolocation, help them navigate and find prey. All rights reserved. How do animals see in the dark? Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city.
Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars. India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.
Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Jyoti Madhusoodanan is a Bay Area-based science writer. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Support science journalism. Knowledge awaits. Light pollution is a major problem for sea turtles and nocturnal migratory birds because they use starlight as a compass.
Human activity and disturbance are also pushing some animals to become more nocturnal. Read more about that here. Climate change is also making some areas of the world much hotter and drier than they used to be, potentially pressuring some animals to become more nocturnal or crepuscular preferring to be active at dawn and dusk than they are currently. Why Are Some Animals Nocturnal? There are fewer predators out at night. The vast majority of nocturnal animals are birds, insects, and mammals, not reptiles.
A leading theory for why animals are nocturnal is that this trait evolved as a way to avoid being eaten by dinosaurs and other top predators back when mammals and birds started to expand as groups.
The darkness helps both predators and prey move around a bit more stealthily. Prey animals use the cover of night to forage more safely, while predators capitalize on the same darkness to ambush prey more easily.
There are prey animals out at night. Some nocturnal species likely developed this schedule as a way to reduce conflict over food sources. Nighttime is cooler. Many desert animals are nocturnal for the evident reason that this helps them avoid the heat of midday. Hedgehogs are found in nature in most parts of the world except for many places in North America, for instance.
I live in Denmark and we have a lot of hedgehogs and they come out in the evening as they are nocturnal. They will stay up all night and wander around in order to find food. We often place a plate with a bit of milk on it outside. That always attracts the little creatures during the night. And there are several reasons for that. The first reason is that the animal is used to being in nature and will be afraid of being too close to humans.
And it probably will be. It will love to dig around and explore your garden. Check out this super-cute albino hedgehog. It has completely red eyes like most albinos and the spikes are all bright and beautiful. They are pretty rare though! Because Hedgehogs are nocturnal you should try to let them rest during the day. You can read more here about how to keep a hedgehog as a pet. They live in South America and they can live up to 10 years in captivity. Check out those cute big ears.
They will grow a lot bigger as the baby gets older. The firm has become a little darker and ears have grown a lot. It has the cutest little eyes staring up at you when it standing on its back feet. Chinchillas are also great pets that you can keep in your home. They are probably the cutest animal among all of the exotic pet she can keep. We have a separate article about exotic animals with info about Chinchillas as pets.
I had a hamster for several years when I was a small kid. It would always start biting the wires in its cage during the night so I had to place it in another room sometimes. Thinking back at that time I think I should have had a bigger cage for it. It was probably pretty bored since it started biting the cage. This is also one of the main reasons people advise families to wait until the kids are around 6 years old before they get a hamster.
Kids need to be able to play with it in the evening and they need to take good care of it. A hamster can totally stuff its face with snacks and carry them around in the mouth. It will eventually put them in a safe space where it can return once in a while whenever it wants another snack. Remember they are mostly awake during the night nocturnal so they will often sleep during the day.
0コメント