The Time of the Hunt
Advantages of the night
Herbivore animals such as wildebeest and zebra find the predators that want to eat them using smell and eyesight. During the day, an empty circle in the middle of a herd of wildebeest generally means there is a predator there. The animals of the herd are all turned sideways to the predator, warily feeding and watching it.
In the darkness, the herbivores can still smell and they can still see the predators. Most animal's night-sight is much much better than a human's.
A 
lion or hyena, creeping cautiously, can approach from the down-wind side of a herd, and hide in the bushes or tall grasses and remain almost completely invisible. Hunting success is far from perfect at night, but it is far better than the day.
Genets (Genetta felina and tigrina)
Feline and quiet, two genet ears and a small pointed face are peering down from the rafters. Common all over Africa, this shy animal is seldom seen. Ndutu lodge in the southern Serengeti plains has a group of genets that have slowly become used to people, and if you are quiet will come quite close.
About the size of a large cat, genets, despite their leopard spots and feline behavior are actually a type of mongoose. There are several species of genets in Africa, though they are very difficult to tell apart, as are male and females. From the quiet, graceful way they move and the way their long ringed tail never quite touches the ground, most people refer to all genets as "she".
Genets are solitary animals and are active only at night. Both males and females seem to hold territories where they mark their presence using cheek and anal-sac secretions. Genets live in trees (arboreal) and on the ground and eat an amazingly diverse group of things. Much of their diet appears to be insects, though they also eat snakes, frogs, rats, bats, birds, bushbabies, fruits, tree sap and eggs.
