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  • Ben Franklin students study a hedgehog as it inches its way toward them.

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  • Huge eye sockets give a hint to how big this owl’s eyes must have been. Giant eyes help the birds see at night.

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Discussion

November 9, 2009

Creatures of the night fascinate

Prickly mammal, owl skull illustrate

By Cathy Spaulding

Poor little hedgehog.

A prickly little hedgehog named Ouch was aroused from his daytime slumber Monday to help Ben Franklin Science Academy teacher Diane Walker teach first graders about nocturnal animals.

Nocturnal animals are critters that sleep during the night, and Ouch is one such animal. Walker, a docent at the Tulsa Zoo, talked about the hedgehog and a Whoo’s Who of other night creatures such as owls, bats, raccoons and skunks.

She instructed the pupils to be very quiet as she pulled the hedgehog out of its shredded-paper nest. She asked “If someone woke you up in the middle of the night, would you be happy?”

“Is it a bear?” one student asked.

A hedgehog actually is its own family of mammals that feeds mostly on insects. It has sharp spikes all over its back and a soft little belly. When nervous, as Ouch was on Monday, the hedgehog curls into a spiny little ball.

That made the first-graders want to touch Ouch even more.

Walker said many nocturnal animals have made adaptations to help them get around at night. For example, she showed kids an owl skull with huge eye sockets.

“Why does an owl need such big eyes?” she asked.

“So it can see at night,” students said.

Walker said owls must turn their heads because their eyeballs cannot move.

First-graders are learning about nocturnal animals as part of their science unit, first-grade teacher Julie Morphis said.

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 684-2928 or cspaulding@muskogeephoenix.com.

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