MOST ANIMALS, INCLUDING HUMANS, use the Sun as a basic timekeeper, hunting, working, and otherwise living actively by day, and sleeping by night. A few creatures are nocturnal; badgers, burglars, and bats work by night, partly because this allows them to prey on the sleepy, partly because the world is quieter and cooler, and partly because there is less competition. In any case, each day and night marks one complete cycle, after which life begins again.