Nocturnal animals are more active at night than during the day. These animals sleep during the day, often in a burrow or den. Many animals, like desert animals, are nocturnal in order to escape extreme daytime heat.
Special Adaptations: Nocturnal animal have special adaptations that help them survive in the dark. Many nocturnal animals, like owls, lemurs and cats, have special eyes that see well in the dark. Some nocturnal animals, like bats, use echolocation, in which the animal emits a high-pitched sound which bounces off objects; the sound is then received by the animal, giving it information about the object's shape, direction, distance, and texture. Other nocturnal animals (like rabbits) have good hearing.
