The Dark Andy's Secret Hideout

# At the end of the day When the adventure is done

# There's time to learn And it's tonnes of fun

# Come and join me There's cool stuff to do

# I've got a window to the world And some funny friends too

# Andy's Secret Hideout

# It's a magical place With so much to see

# Andy's Secret Hideout

# Come and hide out with me. #

Oh, hello, and welcome to my secret hideout.

Oh. Who turned the lights out?

Oh, no. There must be a power cut. Never mind.

I'm sure I've got a torch somewhere in my drawers.

Sometimes, when it's dark,

you have to use your other senses to get around.

Luckily, I'm nimble, like a cat. Meow!

Oh! Ouch!

Ah! Oh!

My night-vision binoculars.

Hey - I wonder how other animals get around in the dark.

Ho-ho! Look at this!

This guy is a tapir.

Tapirs are like pigs.

They live in South America.

They don't mind the dark, because their noses are so good at

sniffing out food in the undergrowth.

Your nose works just as well in the dark as it does in the light.

Now, I need to find that torch in my drawer.

Hang on a minute - I know my smelly socks are near the drawer,

so if I sniff them out, I'll be closer.

Right.

HE SNIFFS

Ooh! I found them.

A tapir's eyesight isn't very good, but they just take things slowly -

sniffing, listening, and feeling their way round in the dark.

If they took things that slowly during the day, though,

they'd be lunch for a jaguar.

Hmmm.

Another way to see better in the dark

is to open up your eyes really wide, to let more light in.

Tarsiers have too much competition for food during the day,

so instead, they sleep hidden away in their own secret hideouts.

But at night, they wake up and use their massive,

sensitive eyes to see their way around in the dark.

Come on, let's do it. Ready?

One, two, three...

That's it. Right. Let's see if this works.

KNOCK! Oh! Ouch.

I think I need bigger eyes. Hang on, I recognise that sound.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Hey! It's the wooden ladder to my bed.

There's another animal that finds its food at night

by knocking against wood.

He doesn't need big eyes to see in the dark,

or a big nose.

All he needs are big ears

and one really long finger.

Do you know what it is?

It's called an aye-aye.

As in, "Aye-aye, swashbucklers."

They use that really long finger to tap against trees,

and when it sounds a bit hollow,

that probably means there's a tasty grub

or insect living in there.

Nothing in here.

Then it can use its strong teeth to bite through the bark

and scoop them out with its long finger.

OW! Oof.

Just knelt on my fossil. That high-pitched squeal reminds me

of another animal that's a master of the night - a bat.

They can fly through the air in pitch-black and avoid bumping

into walls or each other.

They do it by making high-pitched squeaks

and listening for an echo.

If the echo takes a long time to come back,

it means that there's nothing really nearby.

But if the echo is really quick to come back,

it means there's something very close, like a wall, or a drawer.

Come on, let's try squeaking really loud and see if we get an echo.

Ready - squeak!

Like that. One, two three - SQUEAK!

"SQUEAK" ECHOES

Hey, something's close by. Let's try that again.

One, two, three - SQUEAK!

"SQUEAK" ECHOES

There's the echo gain. Really quick.

Which means...

..the drawer is in front of me. And I've found my torch.

Ah, fantastic.

So, you see, there's no need to be scared of the dark.

If you can't see anything and can't use your eyes,

use your ears, use your sense of touch, or use your sense of smell.

Oh, no. My batteries have run out!

You can also call out like a bat.

HELLO! CAN ANYONE HELP ME?

No? Oh, well.

It's time for me to go to bed now, anyway.

And I know where bed is.

Right. See you next time for another adventure in my secret hideout.

Oh!

Ooh! Goodnight, Andy! Ooh!

# Andy's Secret Hideout

# It's a magical place With so much to see

# Andy's Secret Hideout

# Come and hide out with me. #