Explore

Nocturnal animals

Animals that are mostly active at night. Following how most people play, this includes animals active at dawn and dusk. Animals that keep no strong schedule are answered "Day & night" and aren't listed here.

Some are surprising: lions, hippos and domestic cats are all on it.

126 animals, A to Z.

• 🐾AardvarkA nocturnal burrower that may walk some way from its burrow each night to forage.
• 🐍AnacondaMostly nocturnal and aquatic, lurking almost fully submerged.
• 🦫ArmadilloNine-banded armadillos come out at night or dusk, foraging earlier on cold or cloudy days.
• 🐾Aye-ayeThe world's largest nocturnal primate.
• 🦡BadgerIt sleeps in its sett by day and is busiest around dusk and dawn.
• 🐾BandicootLargely nocturnal, foraging alone at night by smell.
• 🦇BatMost bats are nocturnal, roosting by day in caves and other shelters.
• 🦫BeaverMainly active at night and around dusk, spending the day in its lodge.
• 🐾BilbyIt lives in a burrow and comes out at night to feed on insects, fruit and fungi.
• 🐾BinturongMainly nocturnal, and also active around dusk and dawn.
• 🐆Black pantherLeopards and jaguars are mostly active from dusk to dawn.
• 🕷️Black widowThe widow spiders: 34 species of small spiders with unusually potent venom.
• 🐍Boa constrictorNocturnal, though it basks by day when nights are too cold.
• 🐆BobcatMostly nocturnal, and often out at dusk as well.
• 🐾BongoA large, mostly nocturnal forest antelope.
• 🐾BushbabySmall nocturnal primates; the Afrikaans name nagapie means "night monkey".
• 🐾CaecilianMost come to the surface at night.
• 🐊CaimanIt usually hunts at night, and has excellent night vision.
• 🐆CaracalTypically nocturnal, secretive and hard to spot.
• 🐟CatfishMany catfish are nocturnal, though some are active at dusk or by day.
• 🐾CentipedeIt avoids sunlight, hiding under cover or coming out at night.
• 🐾ChinchillaMainly nocturnal, with peaks of activity at dusk and dawn.
• 🐾CivetThe African civet sleeps by day in dense vegetation and wakes at sunset.
• 🐆Clouded leopardIt rests in trees by day and hunts on the forest floor at night.
• 🪳CockroachIt hides by day in crevices and leaf litter and comes out at night to feed.
• 🐾CoelacanthIt shelters in caves by day and drifts out to feed at night.
• 🐾CoralMost corals pull their tentacles in by day and spread them at night to catch plankton.
• 🐺CoyoteEssentially nocturnal, though sometimes seen in daylight.
• 🦞CrayfishFreshwater relatives of lobsters, also called crawfish or crawdads.
• 🦗CricketMainly nocturnal, and best known for the males' chirping song.
• 🐊CrocodileMostly night hunters, with very good night vision that most prey lack.
• 🐱Domestic catCats are crepuscular, most active around dawn and dusk, though pet cats partly adjust to their owners’ hours.
• 🐾DormouseNocturnal, spending its waking hours up in the branches looking for food.
• 🐾EarwigIt hides in damp crevices by day and comes out at night to feed.
• 🐍EelMost eels are nocturnal; the European eel feeds mainly at night, hunting by scent.
• 🐾Electric eelNocturnal, with poor eyesight made up for by sensing electric fields.
• 🦊Fennec foxA night hunter that shelters by day from the desert heat.
• 🦡FerretFerrets sleep 14–18 hours a day and are most active at dawn and dusk.
• 🐾FireflyThe familiar glowing fireflies are nocturnal; many day-active species do not glow.
• 🐿️Flying squirrelMost flying squirrels are nocturnal.
• 🐸FrogSome frogs became nocturnal to save water.
• 🦇Fruit batMost are nocturnal or out at dusk, though a few fly by day.
• 🦎GeckoUnlike most lizards, usually nocturnal, and it sees colour in dim light far better than we do.
• 🐾GenetMost active just after sunset and just before dawn.
• 🦀Ghost crabMainly nocturnal, living in deep burrows on the beach.
• 🐾HagfishEel-shaped, jawless sea fish, usually about 50 cm long and dull pink to blue-grey, with loose skin and no true fins.
• 🐹HamsterWild hamsters are crepuscular, active at twilight; pet hamsters become nocturnal, waking around sundown.
• 🐇HareIt forages mostly at night, roughly between 7 pm and 7 am.
• 🦔HedgehogLargely nocturnal, snuffling along and stopping often to smell the air.
• 🐾HellbenderAt least somewhat nocturnal, with a peak about two hours after dark.
• 🦀Hermit crabMostly nocturnal scavengers.
• 🦛HippopotamusStays in water or mud to keep cool by day, then comes out at dusk to graze.
• 🐾Horseshoe crabIts eyes become a million times more sensitive to light at night than by day.
• 🐺HyenaMainly nocturnal, sometimes out in the early morning.
• 🐺JackalJackals are crepuscular: most active at dawn and dusk.
• 🐾JerboaNocturnal hopping rodents of hot deserts.
• 🐾KakapoA large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot, sometimes called the owl-parrot.
• 🦘KangarooMany kangaroos are nocturnal or crepuscular, resting in the shade on hot days and feeding in the cool of evening, night and early morning.
• 🐾KatydidMany species are nocturnal, with loud calls on summer nights.
• 🐾KinkajouSo strictly nocturnal that people seldom see it.
• 🐾KiwiMostly nocturnal, perhaps because of predators, and it relies more on smell and touch than sight.
• 🐨KoalaIt sleeps about 20 hours a day and is mostly active at night.
• 🐆LeopardMainly active from dusk to dawn, resting through most of the day.
• 🦁LionMostly active at night and around dawn and dusk; lions spend much of the hot day resting.
• 🐠LionfishMostly nocturnal, active from nightfall through the night.
• 🦞LobsterIt stays in its burrow by day and wanders the sea floor at night.
• 🐆LynxFour species of medium-sized wild cat, the Canada, Eurasian and Iberian lynx and the bobcat, with black ear tufts, a short tail and big padded paws for walking on snow.
• 🐾MillipedeAbout 12,000 species of slow-moving arthropods with two pairs of legs on most body segments.
• 🐾MinkThe American mink, a semiaquatic mustelid native to North America.
• 🐾Moray eelNocturnal, which is one reason its breeding is so rarely seen.
• 🦋MothMost moths are nocturnal, though some fly at dusk or by day.
• 🐭MouseMostly crepuscular or nocturnal; mice avoid bright light.
• 🐾MuskratMost active at night and around dawn and dusk.
• 🐾NautilusLong thought to rise from the depths at night to feed, though some populations may not.
• 🦎NewtCrested newts are mostly nocturnal during their time in the water.
• 🐆OcelotActive mainly at twilight and at night.
• 🐙OctopusEight-armed molluscs, about 300 species, with three hearts and copper-based blood.
• 🐀OpossumA solitary nocturnal animal that favours dark, secure dens.
• 🦉OwlMost owls hunt at night, but a few, like the northern hawk-owl, are active by day.
• 🦔PangolinNocturnal, feeding mainly on ants and termites.
• 🐾Pine martenMainly active at night and dusk.
• 🦆PlatypusMainly nocturnal, but also active at dusk in summer and during the day in winter.
• 🐾PolecatThe European polecat: a dark brown mustelid with a pale belly and a dark mask across its face.
• 🦔PorcupineOld World porcupines are strictly nocturnal; North American ones often rest in trees on summer days.
• 🐍PythonOften active at night, finding warm-blooded prey with heat-sensing pits.
• 🐾QuokkaMainly nocturnal, like many of its kangaroo relatives.
• 🐾QuollMainly nocturnal, spending most of the day in a den.
• 🦝RaccoonUsually nocturnal; young raccoons forage with their mother at night.
• 🐾Raccoon dogMainly nocturnal.
• 🐀RatMostly nocturnal or active at dusk.
• 🐍RattlesnakeIts eyes and heat-sensing pits help it hunt warm-blooded prey at night.
• 🦊Red foxMostly active at dusk and at night, though often seen by day where it isn’t disturbed.
• 🐾Red pandaRed pandas appear to be both nocturnal and crepuscular, active at night and around dawn and dusk.
• 🦎SalamanderMost salamanders' eyes are adapted mainly for seeing at night.
• 🐈Sand catIt rests in a den by day and hunts at night, covering about 5 km.
• 🐾SawfishVery large rays with a long, flat snout lined with teeth like a saw.
• 🦂ScorpionIts eyes are sensitive enough for night species to navigate by starlight.
• 🐾Sea urchinAbout 950 species of spiny, globe-shaped echinoderms living on the seabed of every ocean.
• 🦐ShrimpCrustaceans with long bodies, long antennae and thin legs, which swim forward with paddles under the tail and flick backwards to escape.
• 🦨SkunkSkunks are crepuscular: most active at dusk and dawn.
• 🐻Sloth bearIt forages at night and returns to its den around dawn.
• 🐾Slow lorisAll slow lorises are nocturnal primates.
• 🐾SlugMany are most active at night or after rain, when the ground is damp.
• 🐌SnailLand snails are most active at night and after rain, when the damp air keeps them from drying out.
• 🕷️SpiderMany spiders are nocturnal.
• 🦑SquidMany squid rise toward the surface at night; the Humboldt squid moves from deep water by day to the surface by night.
• 🐾Stick insectNocturnal, feeding under leaves at twilight or midnight and keeping still by day.
• 🐾Sugar gliderA small nocturnal gliding possum.
• 🐟SwordfishIt feeds mostly at night, rising to the surface to hunt smaller fish.
• 🐾TapirLargely nocturnal and crepuscular, though the mountain tapir is more active by day.
• 🕷️TarantulaLarge, often hairy spiders, over a thousand species in almost 200 genera.
• 🐾TarsierIts huge eyes and sharp hearing make it a very successful night hunter.
• 🐾Tasmanian devilNocturnal and usually solitary; early explorers first knew it by its cries at night.
• 🐾TenrecMost species are nocturnal, with poor eyesight but sharp other senses.
• 🐯TigerMostly active from dusk into the night.
• 🐸ToadThe common toad hides by day and comes out at dusk to hunt through the night.
• 🐸Tree frogAny frog that spends most of its life in trees.
• 🐾TuataraA lizard-like reptile found only in New Zealand, and the last survivor of the order Rhynchocephalia, the dominant group of small reptiles in the Jurassic.
• 🦇Vampire batIt approaches sleeping animals at night to feed on their blood.
• 🦘WallabySmall and medium-sized relatives of the kangaroo.
• 🐗Wild boarMainly nocturnal, coming out into open areas at night to search for food.
• 🐈WildcatMainly nocturnal, but also out by day where people leave it alone.
• 🐺WolfNocturnal hunters; in winter a pack starts hunting in the early-evening twilight.
• 🐨WombatMainly crepuscular and nocturnal, though wombats come out on cool or overcast days too.
• 🐾WoodlouseUsually nocturnal, feeding mostly on dead plant matter.
• 🪱WormEarthworms are soil-dwelling annelids, among nature’s most important recyclers of dead plant matter.

How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals.