Temperatures are rising, and the nights are becoming more alive. Researchers are witnessing more nighttime activity among numerous animals across the globe — alpine ibex in Europe, cheetahs in Africa and the white-lipped peccary (a cute pig-like creature) in South America — to escape extreme heat associated with climate change.
Foraging and hunting for food in the cool night air takes much less energy than in the heat of the day. In the ibex study, the authors hypothesize that "shifting activity towards nighttime may be a common strategy adopted by diurnal endotherms in response to global warming.”
Who else is a diurnal endotherm (meaning a warm-blooded animal active during daylight hours)? You, me and the rest of humanity. So in regions suffering extreme heat, are we also going to embrace the dark by going nocturnal?