Aardvarks are unusual African mammals with long snouts, huge ears, strong claws, and sticky tongues. They sleep in burrows during the day and come out at night to search for ants and termites.

Atlas moths are giant silk moths from Asian forests. They are famous for huge patterned wings, snake-like wing tips, fluffy bodies, and a short adult life focused mostly on finding a mate and laying eggs.

Aye-ayes are rare nocturnal lemurs from Madagascar with huge ears, big eyes, bushy tails, strong teeth, and one extra-long skinny middle finger. They tap on wood to find insects hiding inside trees.

Bandicoots are small to medium Australasian marsupials with pointed snouts, strong claws, and longer back legs than front legs. They dig little cone-shaped holes while searching for insects, seeds, roots, and other food.

Barn owls are pale, graceful owls with heart-shaped faces, dark eyes, soft feathers, and amazing hearing. They hunt mostly at night and are often found near farms, fields, barns, grasslands, and old buildings.

Bats are amazing mammals with wings. They are the only mammals that can truly fly, and many bats use echolocation to find their way and catch food in the dark.

Bilbies are small Australian marsupials with very long ears, silky fur, pointed snouts, and strong digging claws. They live in dry habitats, come out mostly at night, and use burrows to stay safe from heat and danger.

Binturongs are shaggy rainforest mammals with black fur, tufted ears, long whiskers, and a gripping tail. They are also called bearcats, even though they are not bears or cats.

Bush babies, also called galagos, are small African primates with huge eyes, big ears, soft fur, long tails, and springy back legs. They live in trees and are mostly active at night.

Cats are curious, playful, and graceful animals that have lived with people for thousands of years. They are known for their whiskers, sharp senses, soft fur, and love of exploring.

Centipedes are fast many-legged arthropods that hunt small animals in moist hidden places. They have one pair of legs on each body segment and special venom claws, so wild centipedes should be watched from a safe distance and never handled.

Civets are small to medium mammals with long bodies, pointed faces, spotted or striped coats, and strong scent glands. Many civets are active at night and live in forests, grasslands, and wooded habitats of Africa and Asia.

Cockroaches are flat-bodied insects with long antennae, fast legs, and a very old family history. Most cockroaches live outdoors in warm habitats, while only a few species are famous household pests.

Colugos are unusual gliding mammals from Southeast Asian forests. They are sometimes called flying lemurs, but they are not true lemurs and they do not really fly; they glide on a wide skin membrane.

Crickets are chirping insects related to grasshoppers and katydids. They are known for long antennae, strong jumping legs, nighttime songs, and males that make music by rubbing parts of their front wings together.

Dormice are small rodents known for big eyes, fluffy tails, and long periods of sleep. Many live in forests, hedgerows, and woodlands, where they climb through branches searching for fruit, nuts, flowers, and insects.

Earwigs are flat, slender insects known for the pincer-like forceps at the end of the body. Despite old stories about ears, earwigs do not crawl into ears on purpose. Most hide in dark damp places and come out at night.

Emperor scorpions are large black scorpions from western Africa. They have big pincers, a curved tail with a stinger, eight legs, and a quiet nighttime life in warm forests and savannas.

Fireflies are soft-bodied beetles famous for glowing at night. They are also called lightning bugs, and many use flashing lights from their abdomens to find mates or send signals in warm fields, gardens, forests, and wetlands.

Flying squirrels are tree-living rodents that do not truly fly like birds or bats. They glide between trees using furry skin membranes stretched between their front and back legs, steering with their limbs and tails.

Geckos are small lizards with soft skin, big eyes, quick movements, and amazing climbing feet. Many geckos are active at night and can climb walls or ceilings using special toe pads.

Genets are small, catlike mammals with spotted coats, long ringed tails, pointed faces, and quick climbing skills. Most genets live in Africa, while the common genet also lives in parts of southern Europe and western Asia.

Great horned owls are powerful owls with big yellow eyes, deep hooting voices, and tall feather tufts that look like horns. They live in many habitats and hunt at night with silent wings, strong feet, and sharp talons.

Hamsters are small, furry rodents known for round bodies, short tails, tiny paws, and stretchy cheek pouches. Many hamsters are active at night and like to explore, dig, store food, and run.

Hedgehogs are small mammals with sharp spines, tiny faces, short legs, and curious noses. They are known for curling into a prickly ball when threatened and searching for food mostly at night.

Katydids are mostly nighttime insects related to crickets and grasshoppers. Many have very long antennae, leaflike green bodies, strong jumping legs, and loud mating calls that can make summer nights feel full of tiny hidden musicians.

Kinkajous are small rainforest mammals with golden-brown fur, big eyes, sharp claws, and long prehensile tails. They live mostly in trees at night and are sometimes called honey bears because they enjoy sweet foods such as nectar and fruit.

Kiwis are small flightless birds from New Zealand. They have long beaks, hair-like feathers, strong legs, tiny wings, and nostrils near the end of the beak, which helps them sniff for food on the forest floor.

Luna moths are large pale green moths from North America with long tail-like wing tips and beautiful eyespots. Adults live briefly, fly at night, and do not eat because their mouthparts are reduced or absent.

Mice are small rodents with rounded ears, pointed noses, long tails, whiskers, and quick little feet. They live in many habitats around the world and use sharp senses to find food, avoid danger, and build cozy nests.

Opossums are marsupial mammals from the Americas. The Virginia opossum is famous in North America for its pouch, hairless prehensile tail, many teeth, night activity, and amazing defense trick called playing possum.

Owls are amazing birds of prey with big eyes, quiet wings, sharp talons, and super hearing. Many owls are active at night, which makes them feel a little mysterious and very cool to learn about.

Pangolins are shy scaly mammals from Africa and Asia. They have tough overlapping scales, long sticky tongues, strong claws, and a special habit of curling into a ball when danger comes near.

Pottos are slow-moving nocturnal primates from African forests. They have large eyes, strong gripping hands and feet, woolly fur, and careful climbing skills that help them move quietly through trees at night.

Quolls are spotted carnivorous marsupials from Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. They have pointed noses, sharp teeth, long tails, and beautiful spotted coats that help make them one of the most interesting small predators in their habitats.

Raccoons are clever mammals known for their mask-like faces, ringed tails, curious paws, and nighttime adventures. They live in forests, wetlands, towns, and cities, and they can eat many different kinds of food.

Rats are medium-sized rodents with long tails, sharp senses, strong front teeth, and quick feet. Some rats live close to people, but many wild rats live in forests, fields, wetlands, and rocky places around the world.

Screech owls are small owls with big eyes, bark-colored feathers, and surprisingly loud nighttime voices. Many screech owls hide in tree cavities during the day, then hunt insects, mice, and other small animals after dark.

Servaline genets are slender spotted mammals from Central Africa. They look a little catlike, but they are viverrids, relatives of civets and other small carnivores, with long tails, sharp senses, and secretive nighttime habits.

Skunks are small to medium mammals famous for black-and-white warning colors and a powerful spray defense. They usually give warning signs before spraying, which means smart animals know to back away.

Slow lorises are small nocturnal primates from Southeast Asia. They have big eyes, careful movements, strong gripping hands, and a rare venom defense, which means wild slow lorises should never be touched or kept as pets.

Sugar gliders are small tree-living marsupials with big eyes, soft fur, long tails, and stretchy gliding membranes between their front and back legs. At night, they glide between trees to find food.

Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders found in warm places around the world. They have eight legs, fangs, venom for catching prey, sensitive hairs, and many species live in burrows where they hide during the day and hunt at night.

Tarsiers are tiny primates with giant eyes, long hind legs, soft fur, and amazing leaping skills. They live in forests of Southeast Asia and hunt insects and small animals at night.

Tasmanian devils are stocky black marsupials with strong jaws, loud screeches, and bushy tails. Wild Tasmanian devils live naturally only on the island of Tasmania, where they search for food mostly at night.

Tawny owls are rounded woodland owls famous for deep hoots, dark eyes, and soft mottled feathers. They are common night birds in many parts of Europe and western Asia, where they live in woods, parks, and mature trees.

Toads are amphibians closely related to frogs. Many have dry-looking bumpy skin, short strong bodies, poison glands for protection, and a helpful appetite for insects, making them important little hunters in gardens, forests, and wetlands.