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Nature Journaling: Moonlight Mysteries
Nature Journaling: Moonlight Mysteries
We don't know everything about nighttime creatures because we don't experience them in daylight. For ages, people have been using stories to learn about all kinds of animals. You can find many examples in ancient mythology, legends, fables, folklore, and more! In similar ways, we can use storytelling to understand the mysteries of nocturnal animals and their search for food.
Step-by-step guide:
Pick a nocturnal animal: raccoons, possums, skunk, mice… Sketch it as your character!
Set the scene (Exposition). See what facts you can learn about your animal and incorporate those in the story. Where does this animal live? Do they have family? What food do they need to look for? Does this animal have special adaptations for being out at night? Does this animal need to look out for predators or other things?
Determine the problems your animal faces (Rising action). They begin the search for food… but run into trouble. Is the food hard to find? Is there a predator near? Is the journey long or short?
Hit the key event: your animal finds food (Climax). Yay! BUT… then what happens? Is your animal running too close to dawn and the risk when more predators come out? Did a predator find your character?
Wrap up the journey (Falling action). What happens at the end (Resolution)? Does your character make it back home safe and sound?
If you're running stuck, try creating a comic strip or illustrations for the story I wrote below!
Post-activity questions:
Post-activity questions:
Did you learn anything about the animal you chose?
While being nocturnal has its advantages, what are some disadvantages?
Challenge:
Challenge:
What would a story look like from the perspective of a nocturnal predator?
My journal page!
My journal page!
I drew my character, Peter the Opossum.
Next, I made notes for the setting of the story and the things I needed to know about opossums, like their habitat, shelter, family, food, adaptations, and predators.
Then, I briefly wrote what each part of the story would include, following the framework of the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
My story: Peter the Opossum's Nightly Quest
By Kayla Groen
Exposition:
My name is Peter the opossum. I live with my family in a tiny, underground burrow within the forest. It’s very cozy, and we like to sleep there during daytime so we can go hunting for food at night in the cover of darkness.
We’re not very picky with what we eat – we really like to scavenge for things that might be dead, but we’ll also eat things like insects, frogs and plants! In a few minutes, it will be dark enough for us to leave and begin our search for food. It’s always fun to leave the burrow, but I also get nervous about it too. We have to watch out for the foxes and the owls who are also looking for food at night.
Mom says that we’re well prepared though to go hunting at night. Thank goodness for our noses, she says, that help us find scents extremely well, and our ability to “play dead” and stink really bad so predators go away.
Mom says it’s time to go! As I crawl out of the burrow, I see the night sky peeking through the tall branches of the forest trees. The stars are bright tonight!
Rising action:
My nose immediately picks up the scent of a frog nearby. That sounds good to me, so I decide to follow the trail of the smell. It will probably take me to the small creek bed in the middle of the forest, which is a little ways away, but I know I will have plenty of time to get there and back before the sun comes up.
As I’m walking, I realize I’m alone – I lost my family. Oh no! I could turn around and try to find them, but I also know that I have to find food too. They probably picked up on other scents and went the opposite direction. I know I need to find food by sunrise, so I have to go to the creek bed, find something to eat, and head back.
After a long journey, I’ve finally made it to the creek bed. I can’t celebrate yet though because I haven’t found food yet, and the moonlight is shining its brightest, so it won’t be easy to stay out of sight from owls or foxes that might be near.
I can do this.
I crawl into the open as I catch a whiff of the frog I’m on the hunt for. The wind starts to gust in different directions, and suddenly I’m having a hard time locating the direction I need to follow. How did this get so hard? I need to find a frog fast and get out of here.
Climax:
The creek bed is a couple feet away, and I can make out the shape of the frog sitting on a rock beside the water. I crawl a little bit further as sneaky as I can be…. and I grab it! I got it! I got the frog! I don’t smell any other frogs nearby that I can catch, so I can snack on some plants on my way back. But wait. I’m smelling something else…
Oh no! There’s a fox coming. This isn’t good. Why can’t these trips be easier? I know what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to play dead.
I collapse on the forest floor, and my body does its thing. I go unconscious, the bad smell gets released, and I look like something else got to me before the fox did. I can’t sense anything being unconscious, but I know the fox walked over, caught some of the terrible odor, and ran away.
Falling action:
After a little while, I’m back to normal. I make sure I can’t smell anything else that might be scary, and then I start to head home. My problem now is that I only have a few hours until daylight, when other predators like hawks will be out. I’ve got to make this the fastest trip home ever!
I can feel that I’m getting close as the faintest light in the sky starts to appear at the horizon. Wait, what am I smelling now? Please don’t be a hawk or another fox!
Resolution:
Oh! It’s my family! They’re here and they’re back too! Thank goodness it’s them. I can’t wait to share my adventure with them. Hopefully next time I won’t lose them!
AND... here's a new coloring page for you to try!
AND... here's a new coloring page for you to try!
Raccoon Color Page.pdfRaccoons are one of the most common animals we think of when we hear the word "nocturnal."
They are omnivores, and they will eat almost anything they find! They have many adaptations that help them be successful finding food at night.
Click here for the latest episode of "The Search for Sandsquatch" with Chief Naturalist Anthony!
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