With species loss now occurring at a faster rate than at any time in Earth's history, and compounded by the over-arching threat of climate change, effective awareness raising and education programmes are ever more vital. Wildscreen is therefore pleased to be supporting conservation charity WWF in the promotion of Earth Hour, which aims to get a billion people around the world to switch off their lights for one hour on Saturday, March 28th at 8.30pm, as a powerful message to world leaders that action on climate change is crucial. To pledge your support visit www.wwf.org.uk/earthhour or text EARTH to 84880 (UK only).
Whilst many of us may feel uncomfortable switching off the lights this Saturday, there are, of course, many species around the world that are brilliantly adapted to living in the dark - see below for some of ARKive's favourites.
 |  | Harriet Nimmo
Wildscreen Chief Executive | Richard Edwards
ARKive Director |
Mysterious creatures of the dark
 Relative to its bodyweight, the Philippine tarsier, has the biggest eyes of any mammal; a useful adaptation when leaping from tree to tree through the forest at night. Coupled with the ability to rotate its head almost 360 degrees, there is little that escapes this species’ notice as it hunts for insects in the darkness.
 A life spent in complete darkness in subterranean caves in central Europe, means the cave salamander has little use for eyes, and is totally blind. Nevertheless, this rare amphibian is still capable of hunting down insect larvae and small crustaceans using chemical cues in the water.
 Renowned for their nocturnal habits, bats are superbly adapted for locating prey in the darkness. Often encountered at twilight, flying low over the surface of ponds and rivers, Daubenton’s bat uses echolocation to home-in on its preferred prey of midges and moths.
 Carefully avoiding the daylight, the unusual-looking bluntnose six-gill shark rests in deep water at depths of up to 2,000 metres during the day, rising to the surface at night to hunt for fish, squid, seals and even other sharks.
 Emerging from its burrow under the cover of darkness, the aardvark spends the night feasting on ants and termites. Locating a nest, the aardvark digs into it using its powerful claws and gathers up the swarming insects using its long, sticky tongue.
 The scientific name of the nightjar, Caprimulgus, meaning 'goat sucker', is a reference to the traditional superstition that this wide-mouthed species would milk goats during the night. While it is true that the nightjar can often be found near livestock, it is in reality, attracted to the abundant flying insects which it catches on the wing, using impressive aerial acrobatics.
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