Glowing eyes, take two

[Bruce]

When I would go out at night to see Merlin (Great Pyrenees) and had my headlamp on, I knew if he was between the barns by the bright glow of 2 yellowish green eyes long before I could see any part of his body. No eyes, no dog. With my small flashlight, I could spot him 150' away. My wife and I went down together one time and she could NOT see his glowing eyes no matter what angle I put the light at. Her sister and I went down, same thing. She could not see any glowing eyes. The alpacas eyes aren't as reflective but look somewhat orange to me. Fox eyes are red.

I'm curious as to what percentage of people can/can not see the light that is reflecting back out of an animal's eyes. As a bonus, if anyone knows why this is the case, please do tell us!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I can.

My eyesight isn't the best so I'm not sure I could see anything 150 feet away
But at one point or another, yes I can see it.

I've noticed small rodents like Minks have a red looking reflection.

 

[Bruce]

It is the pair of glowing orbs in the absence of any other light in the blackness that is visible to me. Of course the closer they are, the more obvious (obviously )

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I go outside in the dark every morning and every night. I wear a headlamp- not very bright - but has a red light AND a white light. The dogs eyes reflect red in the red light and greenish in the white light. I guess that's not unusual, but took me a while to figure it out, lol!

 

[Latestarter]

I've seen possum eyes and coon eyes while driving and they've looked bluish/white. Fox red. Dog eyes have been either green or a blue/green. Cats have been greenish/yellowish. Deer have always appeared whitish to me.

 

[greybeard]

Raccoon eyes

possum eyes

dog eyes


cow eyes


cat eyes

 

[greybeard]

Other animals with reflective eyes that I have seen:
Most spiders.
Skunk
aquatic frogs
Alligator
bobcat
mountain lion
some lizards
owls

Animals whose eyes I have never seen to reflect light, regardless of light color:
Beaver (they do when using my night vision monocular)
Chupacabra
common toads
bats

 

[Bruce]

I'm sure glad you have never seen the glowing eyes of a Chupacabra @greybeard !!!!!!


Hmm that very interesting chart lists vampires and Bigfoot. I'll have to see photographic evidence of that before I believe it!

 

[Southern by choice]

Funny you asked Bruce- I was watching a video about cats and they mentioned this... I found the video forwarded and am posting the info ...
Cats eyes can see ultraviolet light which they use to track urine they also have this-tapetum lucidum but they lose their binocular vision up close though at night.

The tapetum lucidum is a biologic reflector system that is a common feature in the eyes of vertebrates. It normally functions to provide the light-sensitive retinal cells with a second opportunity for photon-photoreceptor stimulation, thereby enhancing visual sensitivity at low light levels.

Spotlighting will point out those animals with a tapetum. Foxes and rabbits eyes glow red; many felids (cats) exhibit a greenish shine; raccoons have yellowish eyeshine; bullfrogs show green. Most owls show red eyeshine. “By their eyes ye shall know them,” although not everyone agrees on the color for each species.

 

[Bruce]

But (according to the survey so far ) the only people who CAN'T see the reflection are my wife and her sister! So weird.