Nocturnal Animals: Life After Dark - Owls, Bats & Tarsiers

Nova: Buckle up, Explorers.

Cosmo: Brains in!

Nova: Wheels up!

Nova & Cosmo: Brain Bus, let's GO!

Nova: You're on The Brain Bus.

Nova: I'm Nova, your driver.

Nova: And tonight we're going somewhere amazing.

Nova: We're going into the dark.

Nova: The nighttime dark.

Nova: Ready?

Nova: Some animals sleep ALL day long.

Nova: And they only wake up when the stars come out.

Nova: And one of them - oh, this is a good one -

Nova: One of them has eyes bigger than its brain.

Nova: Can you imagine?

Nova: Eyes. Bigger. Than its brain.

Nova: Tonight, we're meeting the animals of the dark.

Nova: Listen.

Nova: Right now, somewhere outside, it's getting dark.

Nova: The sun goes down slowly.

Nova: The sky turns pink, then purple, then deep, dark blue.

Nova: And something magical starts to happen.

Nova: Animals that were sleeping all day...

Nova: ...start to open their eyes.

Nova: Big, wide, beautiful eyes.

Nova: These animals are called nocturnal.

Nova: Can you say that word? Noc-tur-nal.

Nova: Noc-tur-nal.

Nova: Nocturnal means awake at night.

Nova: While we sleep, they are busy, busy, busy.

Nova: They are like the workers who do their job while you dream.

Nova: When you close your eyes and snuggle in your cosy bed...

Nova: ...they open THEIR eyes and start their day.

Nova: Let's meet them.

Nova: First - the owl.

Nova: Owls come out at night to find dinner.

Nova: And they have a superpower.

Nova: Their feathers are so, so soft.

Nova: Softer than a cloud.

Nova: When an owl flies, you cannot hear it.

Nova: Not a single sound.

Nova: Whoooosh. Nothing.

Nova: Owls glide through the dark in total silence.

Nova: And they can turn their heads way, way around.

Nova: Like this - can YOU turn your head as far as it goes?

Nova: Owls can look almost all the way behind them.

Nova: Without moving their body at all.

Nova: Next - the bat.

Nova: Bats are amazing.

Nova: They fly in the dark.

Nova: But here's the clever bit.

Nova: Bats SHOUT.

Nova: Really, really loud.

Nova: And then they listen.

Nova: The sound flies out and bounces back - like a ball off a wall.

Nova: And the bat knows exactly where everything is.

Nova: They see with their EARS.

Nova: Can you say ears? Ears!

Nova: Bats use their ears to find food in the dark.

Nova: Isn't that wonderful?

Nova: Now - this one is my favourite.

Nova: The tarsier.

Nova: Can you say tar-see-er? Tar-see-er.

Nova: A tarsier is a tiny, tiny animal.

Nova: It fits in the palm of your hand.

Nova: It has the softest fur.

Nova: And the most enormous eyes you have ever seen.

Nova: Its eyes are each bigger than its whole brain.

Nova: Each one. Bigger. Than its brain.

Nova: Those huge eyes catch every little bit of moonlight.

Nova: Like a big bucket catching raindrops.

Nova: The bigger the bucket, the more rain you catch.

Nova: The bigger the eyes, the more moonlight a tarsier can see.

Nova: And in Japan - a country far, far across the ocean - there's another night animal.

Nova: The tanuki.

Nova: Can you say ta-noo-kee? Ta-noo-kee.

Nova: The tanuki is a real animal. A fluffy night creature.

Nova: It looks a little bit like a raccoon.

Nova: It only comes out after dark.

Nova: In old Japanese stories - stories that families have told for hundreds and hundreds of years - the tanuki was magical.

Nova: People said the tanuki was clever and a little bit silly.

Nova: And sometimes played harmless little tricks in the forest at night.

Nova: Today in Japan, you can see little tanuki statues outside shops.

Nova: Because people believe tanuki bring good luck.

Nova: And the real tanuki - the actual fluffy animal - really, truly does come out at night.

Nova: Just like the old stories say.

Nova: And here in Australia - where wombats live, and possums, and bilbies -

Nova: Almost ALL our native animals come out at night.

Nova: Because the daytime here is so hot.

Nova: The nighttime is cooler. Safer. Quieter.

Nova: So the animals wait for the dark.

Nova: Then out they come.

Nova: Quiz time, Explorers!

Nova: Three questions. Are you ready?

Nova: Here we go.

Nova: Question one.

Nova: True or false -

Nova: Owls fly with LOUD, noisy wings.

Nova: True or false?

Nova: False!

Nova: Owls have super soft feathers.

Nova: Their wings make no sound at all.

Nova: They fly like a whisper.

Nova: Question two.

Nova: True or false -

Nova: Bats use their EARS to find food in the dark.

Nova: True or false?

Nova: True!

Nova: They shout, and the sound bounces back.

Nova: Just like a ball off a wall.

Nova: Their ears do the seeing.

Nova: Last question. This is the big one.

Nova: Which animal has eyes bigger than its brain?

Nova: Is it a tiger?

Nova: A turtle?

Nova: Or a tarsier?

Nova: The tarsier!

Nova: Big eyes catch more moonlight.

Nova: Just like a bigger bucket catches more rain.

Nova: Explorers - you are wonderful thinkers.

Nova: Every single one of you.

Nova: Three fun facts. Very fast. Ready?

Nova: One - fireflies light up their bottoms to find friends.

Nova: Tiny little blinking lights in the dark.

Nova: Two - cats have a tiny mirror inside their eyes.

Nova: That's why their eyes glow in the dark.

Nova: The mirror lets them use every bit of light twice.

Nova: Three - a bushbaby pees on its hands and feet.

Nova: To leave little sticky footprints everywhere it walks.

Nova: So it can always find its way home.

Nova: Here's your challenge, Explorers.

Nova: Close your eyes.

Nova: It's nighttime in the car.

Nova: Now listen.

Nova: Really, really listen.

Nova: Can you hear something far away?

Nova: Can you hear something close?

Nova: Try to find three different sounds.

Nova: Just using your ears.

Nova: No peeking.

Nova: Like an owl listening for a tiny mouse.

Nova: Like a bat hearing its shout bounce back.

Nova: What did you find?

Nova: Now - wondering question.

Nova: If YOU were a night animal...

Nova: Would you want bat ears?

Nova: Owl eyes?

Nova: Or fox feet that can hear a mouse under the snow?

Nova: Which one?

Nova: I love that.

Nova: Can I tell you something?

Nova: Something quiet.

Nova: Right now, while we drive...

Nova: Out in the dark somewhere...

Nova: Animals are waking up.

Nova: Stretching their big, big eyes open.

Nova: Lifting their wide, wide ears.

Nova: Stepping out on quiet, quiet feet.

Nova: Their bodies are made for the dark.

Nova: Big eyes to catch the moonlight.

Nova: Big ears to hear the world.

Nova: Quiet feet to move without a sound.

Nova: The dark isn't scary for them.

Nova: It's just home.

Nova: It's just where they belong.

Nova: Bats have been doing this for fifty-two million years.

Nova: Longer than the mountains have existed.

Nova: Just imagine that.

Nova: Next time on The Brain Bus...

Nova: We're going somewhere very, very deep.

Nova: And very, very loud.

Nova: Where the ground shakes and glows.

Nova: I wonder what's down there.

Nova: Stay curious, stay clever, and keep that brain working!

Nova: Until the next stop, Explorers...

Cosmo: ...keep wondering.