Define nocturnal and give a mammal example.

• A. Active during daylight.
• B. Active at dawn and dusk.
• C. Active during the day and night.
• D. Active at night; examples include bats and hedgehogs.

Answer: (D)

Nocturnal means animals that are active at night. This pattern often helps them avoid daytime heat and take advantage of nighttime foraging or hunting, sometimes using specialized senses. A classic nocturnal mammal is the bat, which hunts after dark and uses echolocation to navigate and find insects. Hedgehogs are another example, typically coming out at night to search for food. So, describing nocturnal as being active at night with bats and hedgehogs as examples captures both the behavior and real-world mammals that display it. In contrast, being active during daylight describes diurnal animals, while activity at dawn and dusk describes crepuscular animals, and being active day and night would not be strictly nocturnal.