Nocturnal wildlife
Nocturnal wildlife At night, the world can seem like a different place, full of mysterious sights and sounds. When children are closing their eyes to sleep, many animals are opening theirs, ready to explore the world and search for food. Below, are some quick facts about five of these nocturnal creatures, three of which feature in our advert. Hedgehogs
Foxes
Diet: Insectivore Hedgehogs eat lots of different creepy crawlies, including beetles, earthworms and caterpillars.
Diet: Omnivore Foxes aren’t fussy eaters! They hunt rabbits and rodents like mice, rats and voles, but will also eat earthworms, birds, fish and even fruit and vegetables. Foxes that have adapted to live in our towns and cities are regular dustbin raiders for any kind of leftovers we throw away.
Identification: Small spiny nocturnal mammal 15-35cm in length An adult hedgehog has up to 7,000 spines covering its back and head. When threatened, it can curl up into a prickly ball. Hedgehogs hibernate, which means they sleep all winter.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Poor • Hearing – Excellent • Smell – Excellent • Motion Detection – Very good • Sound – Hedgehogs have a wide range of sounds that they use to communicate including; squeaking, grunting, purring, huffing and snuffling.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Excellent • Hearing – Excellent • Smell – Excellent • Motion Detection – Very good • Sound – Barking, purring, wailing and shrieking. Widespread, found everywhere except for the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, Scottish islands and the Isle of Man. Question for discussion Why do you think some foxes have adapted well to living in urban areas?
Fact card
Question for discussion Which senses of the hedgehog are suited for what they eat? Why do you think that is?
Identification: Small dog-like nocturnal mammal 90-150cm in length The red fox has a strong, slim body, long legs and a long bushy tail called a ‘brush’, which helps them to balance, but also acts as a signal to other foxes. If it’s straight up, it’s telling the other fox to go away.
johnlewis.com/skillstolife
Badgers
Bats
Diet: Omnivore Badgers eat both meat and plants. They have powerful jaws and teeth for crushing small animals and tough roots, but their favourite food is earthworms. An adult can eat up to 200 earthworms a night.
Diet: Insectivore Flying uses a lot of energy so bats have large appetites. Some bats can eat around 500 tiny insects in an hour!
Identification: Nocturnal mammal 56-90cm in length Badgers are brilliant diggers. They have long, blunt claws to shovel soil and a ridge of bone on their skulls, called a sagittal crest, which works like a built-in helmet to protect them from knocks and bumps. They use their long nose and keen sense of smell to find food.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Poor • Hearing – very good • Smell – Excellent • Motion Detection – Poor • Sound – Long, low pitched growls to short, high-pitched squeaks and bird-like coos.
Identification: Flying nocturnal mammal up to 14cm in length There are 17 species of bats that breed in the UK. The common pipistrelle bat weighs only 4-7g – that’s about the same as a 2p coin. At the other end of the scale is the noctule bat, which is the UK’s largest bat with a wingspan of up to 45cm. Bats hibernate from November to March.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Good • Hearing – Exceptional • Smell – Exceptional • Motion Detection – Poor • Sound – Bats make rapid high-pitched squeaks called ‘ultrasounds’, which together with their exceptional hearing and sense of smell helps them hunt in the dark. Question for discussion Why do you think bats have large ears?
Question for discussion Why do badgers have poor eyesight, whereas owls have exceptional eyesight?
Fact card
johnlewis.com/skillstolife
Barn Owl
Identification: Large bird of prey with wingspan of up to 89cm The barn owl has a ghostly white underside and mottled silver-grey and brown top feathers with a heart-shaped white face and black eyes. Diet: Carnivore The barn owl is known as the silent hunter. They swoop down and take prey by surprise, even on a pitch black moonless night, when the owl uses hearing alone to pinpoint exactly where small mammals like mice, shrews, voles, rats and small birds are. Super senses: • Eyesight – Exceptional • Hearing – Exceptional • Smell – Good • Motion Detection – Exceptional • Sound – Eerie screeching and hissing noises. Question for discussion Why do you think owls have a white underside?
Enter our prize draw: Design your dream pet Using inspiration from the advert plus any other animals, we’d like children to create a collage, drawing or digital image of their dream pet and share it with us. Can they label their creation to tell us what characteristics and features it has and why? Email entries as attachments to [email protected] – every entry received will be entered into a prize draw to win one of 30 hedgehog soft toys. For full details, including prize draw terms and conditions, visit johnlewis.com/skillstolife/christmas
Charity partner
* © 2016 Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts t/a The Wildlife Trusts. Registered Charity Number 207238. Registered Address: The Kiln, Mather Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1WT.
Fact card
This Christmas, John Lewis is partnering with The Wildlife Trusts* to help protect and restore our nation’s wildlife and natural habitats. The Wildlife Trusts believe that every child should have the opportunity to experience the joy of wildlife and get closer to nature. From protecting green spaces in towns and cities; to ensuring native woodland creatures, like those featured in our advert, have the right environments in which to flourish. We think both protecting our wildlife and giving more children the chance to enjoy nature is vital and we’d love your help too.
Foxes
Diet: Insectivore Hedgehogs eat lots of different creepy crawlies, including beetles, earthworms and caterpillars.
Diet: Omnivore Foxes aren’t fussy eaters! They hunt rabbits and rodents like mice, rats and voles, but will also eat earthworms, birds, fish and even fruit and vegetables. Foxes that have adapted to live in our towns and cities are regular dustbin raiders for any kind of leftovers we throw away.
Identification: Small spiny nocturnal mammal 15-35cm in length An adult hedgehog has up to 7,000 spines covering its back and head. When threatened, it can curl up into a prickly ball. Hedgehogs hibernate, which means they sleep all winter.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Poor • Hearing – Excellent • Smell – Excellent • Motion Detection – Very good • Sound – Hedgehogs have a wide range of sounds that they use to communicate including; squeaking, grunting, purring, huffing and snuffling.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Excellent • Hearing – Excellent • Smell – Excellent • Motion Detection – Very good • Sound – Barking, purring, wailing and shrieking. Widespread, found everywhere except for the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, Scottish islands and the Isle of Man. Question for discussion Why do you think some foxes have adapted well to living in urban areas?
Fact card
Question for discussion Which senses of the hedgehog are suited for what they eat? Why do you think that is?
Identification: Small dog-like nocturnal mammal 90-150cm in length The red fox has a strong, slim body, long legs and a long bushy tail called a ‘brush’, which helps them to balance, but also acts as a signal to other foxes. If it’s straight up, it’s telling the other fox to go away.
johnlewis.com/skillstolife
Badgers
Bats
Diet: Omnivore Badgers eat both meat and plants. They have powerful jaws and teeth for crushing small animals and tough roots, but their favourite food is earthworms. An adult can eat up to 200 earthworms a night.
Diet: Insectivore Flying uses a lot of energy so bats have large appetites. Some bats can eat around 500 tiny insects in an hour!
Identification: Nocturnal mammal 56-90cm in length Badgers are brilliant diggers. They have long, blunt claws to shovel soil and a ridge of bone on their skulls, called a sagittal crest, which works like a built-in helmet to protect them from knocks and bumps. They use their long nose and keen sense of smell to find food.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Poor • Hearing – very good • Smell – Excellent • Motion Detection – Poor • Sound – Long, low pitched growls to short, high-pitched squeaks and bird-like coos.
Identification: Flying nocturnal mammal up to 14cm in length There are 17 species of bats that breed in the UK. The common pipistrelle bat weighs only 4-7g – that’s about the same as a 2p coin. At the other end of the scale is the noctule bat, which is the UK’s largest bat with a wingspan of up to 45cm. Bats hibernate from November to March.
Super senses: • Eyesight – Good • Hearing – Exceptional • Smell – Exceptional • Motion Detection – Poor • Sound – Bats make rapid high-pitched squeaks called ‘ultrasounds’, which together with their exceptional hearing and sense of smell helps them hunt in the dark. Question for discussion Why do you think bats have large ears?
Question for discussion Why do badgers have poor eyesight, whereas owls have exceptional eyesight?
Fact card
johnlewis.com/skillstolife
Barn Owl
Identification: Large bird of prey with wingspan of up to 89cm The barn owl has a ghostly white underside and mottled silver-grey and brown top feathers with a heart-shaped white face and black eyes. Diet: Carnivore The barn owl is known as the silent hunter. They swoop down and take prey by surprise, even on a pitch black moonless night, when the owl uses hearing alone to pinpoint exactly where small mammals like mice, shrews, voles, rats and small birds are. Super senses: • Eyesight – Exceptional • Hearing – Exceptional • Smell – Good • Motion Detection – Exceptional • Sound – Eerie screeching and hissing noises. Question for discussion Why do you think owls have a white underside?
Enter our prize draw: Design your dream pet Using inspiration from the advert plus any other animals, we’d like children to create a collage, drawing or digital image of their dream pet and share it with us. Can they label their creation to tell us what characteristics and features it has and why? Email entries as attachments to [email protected] – every entry received will be entered into a prize draw to win one of 30 hedgehog soft toys. For full details, including prize draw terms and conditions, visit johnlewis.com/skillstolife/christmas
Charity partner
* © 2016 Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts t/a The Wildlife Trusts. Registered Charity Number 207238. Registered Address: The Kiln, Mather Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1WT.
Fact card
This Christmas, John Lewis is partnering with The Wildlife Trusts* to help protect and restore our nation’s wildlife and natural habitats. The Wildlife Trusts believe that every child should have the opportunity to experience the joy of wildlife and get closer to nature. From protecting green spaces in towns and cities; to ensuring native woodland creatures, like those featured in our advert, have the right environments in which to flourish. We think both protecting our wildlife and giving more children the chance to enjoy nature is vital and we’d love your help too.
