How do animals see in dark?

Some animals such as bats with the extrasensory adaption use echolocation to navigate and find food.

Nocturnal animals have evolved physical characterstics that let them rule in the dark. Owl eyes, for example, have big and wide pupils that help them collect more light.Apart from sight, some depend on other senses to adapt to the darkness. Animals like owls and big cats have specialised hearing to hunt at night.

Many nocturnal animals have a good sense of smell and often communicate with scent marking. That sense of smell comes from the Jacobson’s organ located in the roofs of their mouths. When an animal pulls its lips back and grimaces, it enhances the sensitivity of the organ.

Some animals such as bats with the extrasensory adaption use echolocation to navigate and find food. Bats make a high-pitched sound that bounces off objects, including prey and tell the bat how far is the prey.

Snakes use taste to locate prey. These reptiles also have heat-sensitive sensory receptors that, like echolocation, help them navigate and find prey.

Specialised hairs with sensory receptors also play an important role in animals ability to find food at night. In mammals, the receptors are on the whiskers. In arthropods, the receptors are on hair that covers the animal’s body. Spiders use their webs as sensory tools when they catch prey.