Hot on the heels of Wild Life, a book of portraits of wild animals posed against black backgrounds, comes Nocturne: Creatures of the Night, published in early September by Princeton Architectural Press. For her fourth book, photographer Traer Scott snapped 42 nocturnal animals, from the pygmy slow loris to the Eastern screech owl, against dark backgrounds. See some of the results, with captions excerpted from the book.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
The playful North American river otter is equally adept on land or in the water. These members of the weasel family have a thick, water-repellent coat that allows them to catch fish and swim even during winter months. River otters need thriving natural ecosystems with clean, accessible water in order to survive. Unfortunately, populations have been declining for decades as a result of environmental pollution and habitat loss. River otters are primarily nocturnal in the spring, summer, and fall, but adopt a more diurnal lifestyle in the winter months.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
This tiny marsupial is actually a gliding opossum with opposable fingers and toes. Although omnivorous, sugar gliders are known for being particularly fond of sweet foods such as nectar and fruit. Often referred to as a “pocket pet” because of its miniature size and proclivity for hanging out in pouches, the sugar glider is a popular exotic pet. Sugar gliders can form strong bonds with their human families, but as highly social animals they should live in pairs or small groups and must have a spacious enclosure, as well as a carefully monitored diet. These strictly nocturnal creatures will sleep curled up in a pouch during the day and romp around at night, sometimes barking or chirping when excited or frightened.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
The Indian flying fox, one of more than 1,100 species of bat, is also known as the giant fruit bat. Found mainly in tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent, this spectacular mammal usually resides in a treetop colony with hundreds or sometimes thousands of other bats. The Indian flying fox can have a wingspan of up to 6 feet while weighing in at just 3 pounds or less. These megabats leave the roost about an hour after sunset and will often fly up to 40 miles at night to forage for figs, mangos, bananas, and other ripe fruit.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
The eerie call of these pint-size owls sounds much more like a high-pitched warble or tremolo than a screech. Because of their small size, generally less than 9 inches in height, and effective camouflage, screech owls are much less often seen than heard. The Eastern screech owl does not build a nest but instead inhabits hollows or cavities in trees, using the naturally occurring layer of feathers and debris from her previous meals as a lining on which to lay her eggs. Eastern screech owls hunt almost exclusively at night, using a more passive approach than many other owls: They sit in the low branches of a tree waiting for prey to pass below and then pounce.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
The luna moth is one of the largest moths in North America, with a wingspan often reaching almost 5 inches. The lime-green moth has prominent markings on its wings that resemble eyes. These “eyes” are meant to distract predators from the moth’s small, fragile body. The life of a luna moth is brief: Most last less than a week, just long enough to find a mate and reproduce. They have no mouths or digestive systems and do not eat or drink after leaving the cocoon. Luna moths will only fly at night.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
The gray tree frog rarely leaves the safety of tree branches except during breeding season and in winter, when it hibernates, hidden on the forest floor under leaves or debris. This amazing frog can withstand up to 80 percent of its body being frozen. During hibernation the frog’s heart, lungs, and other organs do not function. In the spring the gray tree frog simply thaws out and hops away. Large choruses of these strictly nocturnal chirping frogs can often be heard at night in April and May.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
As humans are the sole predatory threat to mature wild cougars, cougar kittens are orphaned most frequently as a result of sport hunting, poaching, or illegal culling. Only female cougars are involved in raising young, and a mother spends an average of 18 to 24 months with her brood, teaching them how to hunt myriad prey, from mice to deer. Cougars, like all cats, are considered obligate carnivores, which means that a diet consisting exclusively of meat is biologically essential for their survival. Cougars can be either nocturnal or crepuscular, often doing much of their hunting in the twilight and early morning hours.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
Hedgehogs are extremely vocal. They communicate their preferences and moods using a repertoire of grunts, chirps, hisses, and squeals. When truly threatened, a hedgehog’s primary defense is to roll up into a tight ball with all of its spines facing outward. The quills—more than 7,000 of them—on a hedgehog’s little body not only protect against predators but also help act, paradoxically, as a soft cushion. Though very good at climbing, hedgehogs often have trouble getting back down again. When faced with a tough descent, they may opt to just curl into a ball and drop, allowing their spines to soften their fall. Hedgehogs are nocturnal because most of the tiny animals they feed on are nocturnal, too. Common night dwellers such as insects, snails, toads, and earthworms make up the bulk of the hedgehog’s diet.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
Triggered by the annual spring rainy season, an adult spotted salamander returns to the same pool for breeding every year of its life. A spotted salamander lays eggs in clutches of up to 200, which are attached to aquatic vegetation by a jellylike coating. After the eggs hatch, the larvae must stay in the water for up to three months before maturing enough to venture onto nearby land. An adult salamander may look defenseless, with its supple, delicate skin, but the glands on its back and tail produce a foul-tasting toxin that quickly deters predators. These nocturnal amphibians also stay out of sight during the day, often hiding under rocks or leaves or even squatting in other animals’ burrows until nighttime, when fewer predators are awake.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
This small, tree-dwelling primate is found in the forests of Southeast Asia. The pygmy slow loris population in Vietnam faced near extinction in the 1970s and ’80s, after widespread burning, clearing, and the use of chemicals like Agent Orange during the Vietnam War caused extensive habitat loss. Wild populations continue to be threatened by hunting and habitat degradation. The pygmy loris is frequently captured and sold into the exotic pet trade in Vietnam and Cambodia, where it is also hunted for use in traditional Asian medicine. Since the pygmy slow loris is strictly nocturnal, arboreal, and native to areas with a history of political unrest, accurate population data on the species is hard to find.
Traer Scott/Princeton Architectural Press
