We share the earth with a wide variety of animal species, each of which brings something special to the diversity of the planet. By knowing more about how animals behave and live, we gain a greater understanding of how life evolved and the importance of biodiversity. This book is about the animals that rise when the sun sets and are active throughout the night. "Nocturnal Animals" examines how such animals live and explains their highly developed senses that enable them to survive in the dark, as well as their behaviour and adaptations to avoid sunlight and predators during the day. The book provides a thorough guide, perfect for understanding the behaviour and biodiversity of a fascinating and unusual group of animals. "Nocturnal Animals" provides an in-depth discussion of the behaviours of different types of nocturnal animals. For example: snakes that use scent particles in their flicking tongues, and rattlesnakes that have special heat-sensing pits that locate a small rodent by its body warmth; the highly developed sight of tree-dwelling frogs that allows them to jump from branch to branch in the dark; how owls can locate a mouse in complete darkness because of their acute hearing; bats that use echo location to fly through a forest at full speed. Beautifully illustrated, "Nocturnal Animals" provides copious material for understanding these unusual animals.

CLIVE ROOTS has been a zoo director for many years. He has travelled the world collecting live animals for zoo conservation programmes. He has acted as a planning and design consultant for numerous zoological gardens and related projects around the world, and has written many books on zoo and natural history subjects.