CHAPTER SEVEN
African Animals
There are many nocturnal animals in Africa. Many big cats, like leopards, hunt for food at night. It’s usually easier to catch prey when it’s dark, and when it’s cooler, too.
Big cats see very well, and they have a very good sense of hearing and smell, so they are good night hunters. Their eyes have a special part called the tapetum. The tapetum reflects light so that the cats can see in the dark. It can make their eyes glow.
Aardvarks can’t see very well, but they have a big nose and big ears that they use to find ant nests at night. They dig up the nests and catch the ants on their sticky tongue.
An aardvark can eat 50,000 insects in one night!
Hippos come out at night to eat grass. In the day, they stay in water because their skin needs to be wet and cool.
Bushbabies hunt for food at night. They use their big eyes to look in trees for insects, flowers, seeds, and eggs.
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