Did you know that Mammal Eyes are composed of two types of receptors, Rod Receptors and Cone Receptors ?Did you know that Mammal Eyes are composed of two types of receptors, Rod Receptors and Cone Receptors? Rod receptors are primarily responsible for greater Night Vision and “movement tracking”, while cone receptors allow for color processing and greater Daytime Vision. Cat Eyes have about 25 rods to each cone? Compare this to the composition of the Human Eye at roughly 4 rods to each cone it becomes clear why Cat Night Vision is so superior to ours. David and I always get questions about Tiger Eyes and the quality of “Tiger Night Vision”. Like most cats, a Tiger's Eye has a high ratio of Rods to Cones and as a result they have fantastic Night Vision and are immediately alerted to the slightest movement. Another reason Tiger Eyes see so well at night is due to a special membrane called the “Tapetum Lucidum”. All cats have this “Tapetum Membrane” which is like a mirror that bounces incoming light back and forth in the eye twice. This harvests as much light as possible in dim and dark conditions thus increasing the eyes sensitivity. This membrane is also the reason a Cats Eye exhibits “Eye shine” when caught in a beam of light. Some unscrupulous Safari Hunters sometimes hunt Big Cats at night by locating them at great distances with a spotlight. For example, Leopard eyes will reflect light back to such an extent when a spotlight hits them that hunters can find them in dense forest canopies. Leopards are extremely elusive cats and one of the best ways of seeing one is to check out one of the many Leopard Cams the www.tigerhomes Animal Sanctuary has set up in Sampson and Midnight’s habitats. If you’re lucky you can even take a great “Snap Shot” directly from the web cameras of a close-up of a green Leopard eye! By the way, at the time of this writing, Midnight is still a Baby Leopard Cub with juvenile Eye Coloration. REMEMBER THE TIGERHOMES WEBSITE SPECIALIZES IN AMAZING EXOTIC ANIMAL WEB CAMS! << Back to Animal Facts |  CLICK HERE
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