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Nocturnal
Animals
by Kristin Bihl  3rd Grade - Georgia Performance Standard - Life Science S3L1. Students will investigate the habitats of different organisms and the dependence of organisms on their habitat. c. Identify features of animals that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of This book will allow children in the third grade to obtain more information about nocturnal animals, their habitats, and what they eat. |
      Nocturnal Animals are ones that sleep during the day and are active at night. During the day theses animals hide in caves, trees, or dens. At night, these animals hunt for food. These animals have a strong sense of sight. They have large eyes and a wide pupil. (The black part of your eye.) Their pupils open very wide when there is not a lot of light. Nocturnal animals also have a stronge sense of smell. They use this to help hunt food. Nocturnal animals stay up at night because there are not as many predators around. Some examples of nocturnal animals are bats, owls, opossums, badgers, hedgehogs, and racoon. |
 Bats
Have
any of you ever seen a bat? Most of you probably have not
because bats hunt at night and sleep during the day in
dark,
hidden places, like caves.
Bats have a
natural sonar that allows them to "see" with their ears! Sonar help
them find food in total darkness.
Their favorite foods
include beetles, moths, flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, crickets, and
scorpions. All
bats can drink water by flying low over a stream or lake and dipping
their mouths under the surface. Bats are found
on every continent of the world except
Antarctica.
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 Owls
Owls have the best
night vision of any creature on earth and their hearing
is so sharp, they can can
hear a mouse step on a twig 75 feet away! Some
owls live in cold,
snowy places, and others live where it is very hot. Owls favorite foods
are rabbits, rodents, birds, fish and sometimes even deer! Owls swallow
their prey whole. The
parts that cannot be digested (teeth, bones, and fur) are packed into
pellets and are spit out. |
Opossums The opossum is the only
living marsupial from
North America. A marsupial carries its babies in a pouch.
Opossums live in forests and praries. They sleep during the day in a
den or in a hollow tree. When opossums are
attacked, they will either hiss or "play possum," pretending that they
are dead; they
remain still, do not blink, and their tongue hangs out. This act makes
the attacker lose interest in the opossum. The opossum eats both
plants and animals. Its favorite foods are insects, lizards, mice,
snails, earthworms,
fruit, nuts, seeds, and grasses.
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Badgers
The badger is a burrowing mammal with a black-and-white striped face. They have poor eyesight, but have great senses of hearing and smell. They spend most of their time underground. Badgers live in tropical forests, plains, woodlands, mountains, and prairies. Badgers eat both animals and plants. Their favorite foods are rodents, frogs, snakes, small mammals, worms, insects, fruit, and roots. Badgers burrow for much of their food. |
Hedgehogs
The
hedgehog is a small mammal who has stiff,
spiky spines on the upper part of its body. Hedgehogs can live in
deserts, forests, and
plains. They will hibernate in
very cold climates and sleep through dry summers in
hot deserts. When
threatened, the hedgehog can pull itself into a prickly ball that
is almost impossible to attack. It has a soft, white
underbelly. Hedgehogs eat insects, snails,
mice, birds, lizards, snakes, eggs, dead meat that they
find, and some plant material. They often poke around in the dirt for
food. |
 Racoons Raccoons are small mammals. They live in marshes, forests, praries, cities, and suburbs. Raccoons have distinctive black patches around their eyes that look like a mask. They have a bushy, black-ringed tail, clawed feet, and a pointed snout. They have long fingers and toes. Raccoons will eat almost anything, including frogs, crayfish, birds, mice, fruit, nuts, plants, crops, and garbage. Raccoons find much of their food in the water. |
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A. cannot survive in sunshine. B. are active at night. C. are usually blind. D. live in water 2. An owl can ________ better than any other animal at night. A. see B. smell C. taste D. touch 3. Some examples of nocturnal animals are A. chimpanzees, bald eagles, and chipmunks. B. owls, bats, racoons, and hedgehogs. C. grizzly bears, snow leopards, and mule deer. D. fish, octupuses, turtles, and seals 4. Dens, trees, and caves are favorite places for night animals to ______ during the day. A. find food B. make friends C. sleep D. play 5. Bats use _____________ to find and capture prey at night. A. echocardiogram B. sonar C. frequency-location D. electricity 6. What animal is curls up into a spiky ball when threatened? A. An owl B. A flying squirrel C. A bat D. A hedgehog 7. What do raccoons eat? A. Frogs B. Mice C. Garbage D. All of the above. 8. A badger has A. a black and white face. B. a spotted back. C. a stripped tail. D. a yellow face. 9. When an opossum is frightened, it A. it hisses and plays dead. B. it begins flying in circles. C. it dives for the ground D. it runs away. 10. Owls eat A. only the meat of the prey. B. the bones, fur, and meat of their prey. C. only the fur of the prey. D. only the bones of the prey. Answer Key 1. B 2. A 3. B 4. C 5. B 6. D 7. D 8. A 9. A 10. B |
