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rickb
02-15-2005, 15:13
Has anyone wondered about what kind of animal is out there in the dark, when the only thing you see is a pair of glowing eyes reflecting back from your headlamp?

What I am looking for is some kind of reference that indicates what animal reflects back what color eyes. As I inderstand things, the color reflected back is likley to be different, depending on the species. That was confirmend by google, but I couldn't find anything regarding specifics.

Rick B

Footslogger
02-15-2005, 15:25
Has anyone wondered about what kind of animal is out there in the dark, when the only thing you see is a pair of glowing eyes reflecting back from your headlamp?

What I am looking for is some kind of reference that indicates what animal reflects back what color eyes. As I inderstand things, the color reflected back is likley to be different, depending on the species. That was confirmend by google, but I couldn't find anything regarding specifics.

Rick B==================================
Don't have the website reference or citation but I had the personal experience of viewing a coyote in the dark by Abol Bridge in 2001. I saw the animal in the beam thrown by an overhead light so I knew it was a coyote. We shined our headlamps in the direction of the coyote and sat still for moment. The animal stopped and looked right back at us with a set of orangish eyes. REALLY WIERD !!

'Slogger
AT 2003

rickb
02-15-2005, 15:37
Cool. About all I know is that a deer's are bright white.

Footslogger
02-15-2005, 16:04
Cool. About all I know is that a deer's are bright white.===============================
Yeah ...and the "human" animal's eye's are RED because of the blood vessels on the retina. I think it all has to do with the absorption/reflection characteristics on the back of the eye. Animals have a different membrane that "intensifies" the light but (like you) I have never heard an explanation as to the differences in color reflection at night.

'Slogger

Footslogger
02-15-2005, 16:10
Rick ...I just shot off an e-mail to the Veternary Medical Science department at the University of Wyoming here in Laramie. Will let you know what type of response I get.

'Slogger

flyfisher
02-15-2005, 18:33
From walking back to my barn on many a dark night with a head lamp:

Deer: white
Cats: white and very bright
Sheep: redish and dim
Spiders: very small and white.

Footslogger
02-15-2005, 19:55
OK Rick ...here's the "official" answer from the Department of Veternary Medicine at the University of Wyoming ...'Slogger
===========================================
"Different species have different kinds of a tapetum, which is the reflective layer under the retinal pigment epithelium. In some species (cats and dogs) it is in cells with zinc-rich rods that are spaced (from memory) half a wavelength of light apart. Cats have a big tapetum since they are nocturnal, and dogs a small one. Other species (sheep, cattle and horses) have an extracellular tapetum composed of collagen laid in orthogonal arrays. This gives rise to different reflective hues. Any disease in the overlying sensory or nonsensory retina will have an effect on the reflectivity of the tapetum. Increased reflectivity is one of the standard criteria for retinal atrophy in domestic animals.

The tapetum is an astonishing and intriguing biological structures to look at, especially with an electron microscope."
================================================== =

whitedove
02-15-2005, 20:59
Interesting question!

I have no clue so I asked your question on a site, the
Electronic Naturalist, and here is the answer. As you can see it doesn't say much more than has been posted already. Sorry.


A: There is a layer in the back of the eyes of some animals called the
tapedum lucidum (ta-PEE-tum LOO-sih-dum) that reflects light back into
the eye to help with vision. You are correct in thinking that there
are different colors from different animals. A bear's eye shines a deep
red, a deer's shines orange-yellow, while a cat's shows a greenish tint,
I believe sharks are rather green, and of course, humans have a pale
red or orangish color. Hope this helps.

John Wiessinger, 02/15/2005 19:47:28

lostjohn
02-15-2005, 23:45
Ever so often we have a fox in our yard. At night when I shine a light on them the eyes are a bright ruby color.

Flash Hand
02-16-2005, 02:02
I just wish that no animals have reflective eyes during night. They usually got my heart racing easily. Thats why I don't want to hike during dark.

Flash Hand :jump

RockyTrail
02-16-2005, 10:12
My dog will tree a possum every so often in my backyard. When I go out and shine my flashlight on it I see a pair of beady red eyes, usually bright red.

DebW
02-16-2005, 14:01
I guess distance between the eyes might also be a clue as to what animal you are looking at. Anybody has a table of eye separation distances?

rickb
02-16-2005, 14:18
Deb,

You may laugh, but if you ever hike at night on the Bay Circuit Trail behind Harvard's Primate Research Center, you might find it very comforting to know that deer eyes reflect white, and apes not at all.

That is experience speaking. ;-)

Rick B

Dances with Mice
02-16-2005, 14:40
I guess distance between the eyes might also be a clue as to what animal you are looking at. Anybody has a table of eye separation distances?To answer the question first: No.

To tell a sorta relevant story: At my son's summer Scout camp I was sleeping on the wooden floor of a tent platform because I was too tall for, and my Thermarest was more comfortable than, the supplied cots. I heard a critter rustling around the platform. It kept getting closer and closer. I hissed "Shoo! Go away!" It didn't. I tried to find my flashlight in the dark. I couldn't.

BUT I just happened to have had three red plastic balls, about 3 inches diameter, that contained internal LEDs that lit up for about 15 seconds after they were struck. Night time props for juggling, another hobby of mine. Anyway, I found two, struck them together to set off the flashing red LEDs then held them out at arm's distance towards the noise to see if I could ID the critter.

I never saw it but I could hear it crashing through the woods away from our camp. Very good. I went back to sleep.

I imagined some 'coon, 'possum, or skunk rushing back to its nest to report to its family: "I don't know what it was, but it was HUGE! It had eyes THIS BIG and THIS FAR apart!"

RockyTrail
02-16-2005, 14:57
Deb,

You may laugh, but if you ever hike at night on the Bay Circuit Trail behind Harvard's Primate Research Center, you might find it very comforting to know that deer eyes reflect white, and apes not at all.


Ha, that's funny, I have a friend who lives in a subdivision that's next to Emory University's primate center in the north Atlanta suburbs. A few years ago they had some chimps on the loose that escaped from the center and ran around his neighborhood, that was quite a sight! They were all recovered and taken home. It was in the daytime, so there was no reflector-eyes to be seen.

dp the wonder dog
02-16-2005, 15:05
Fun with newbies at a shelter:

get some of the reflective dots that they sell in hunting stores, that are made for marking a night-time trail for hunters. put them on trees, in pairs, 2-4 feet from the ground, starting about 30' feet out.

Now imagine being a newbie, turning your light out towards the woods, and seeing dozens of "eyes" staring back at you.

have fun, clean up after yourselves.

nthadley
02-21-2005, 02:31
I had no idea there were SO MANY spiders on the ground until I purchased a headlamp!

darkoneswing_2007
12-16-2007, 00:38
Cool. About all I know is that a deer's are bright white.
The deer eyes ive seen here in la dont glow white in light the bucks or male deer glow a bright yellow and are wide apart where the female or doe will tend to be more green and closer together also the male will tend to raise his head to look where the doe will lower her head and try to look under it.this is why you will see more doe on the side of the road hit by cars:-?

darkoneswing_2007
12-16-2007, 00:40
dont wanna do that here youd have hundreds of coon asses shooting at your trees

Bob S
12-16-2007, 01:24
Just buy night vision goggles and it will tell you what animal is about to have you for dinner.

DBT fan
12-16-2007, 02:47
Deb,

You may laugh, but if you ever hike at night on the Bay Circuit Trail behind Harvard's Primate Research Center, you might find it very comforting to know that deer eyes reflect white, and apes not at all.

That is experience speaking. ;-)

Rick B

Spooky! It's been years since my college anatomy classes but I recall dissecting a sheep eyeball since it was nearly identical to the human eye. I do remember the old Professor saying the pig is the animal whose eyes reflect the least amount of light with the humans & primates being second.

woodsy
12-16-2007, 06:58
A unique aspect to the moose is the lack of reflectivity in their eyes. In the dark, a deer is noticeable by its reflective eyes, making car accidents avoidable at times if seen at enough of a distance away from the animal. But a moose's eyes are not reflective at all. By the time you realize what's in front of you its too late to avoid a collision. :eek:

mudhead
12-16-2007, 07:08
And when you do see a moose's eyes reflect, you are way too close.

Wanderingson
12-16-2007, 07:10
Here is a cool little study.

Grab yourself a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy the read.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1463-5224.2004.00318.x/full/?cookieSet=1

mudhead
12-16-2007, 07:23
That would not open for me. What is the jist of it?

Jim Adams
12-16-2007, 08:42
1. Get a pair of low light binoculars, they have bright orange coated lenses. 2. wait until everyone is sitting around the campfire and slowly move off into the dark.
3. open the binoculars as wide as they will go and hold them up over your head as high as you can.
4. make a strange noise and move them around slightly.
5. watch everyone change their underware.

geek

oldfivetango
12-16-2007, 08:54
Deb,

You may laugh, but if you ever hike at night on the Bay Circuit Trail behind Harvard's Primate Research Center, you might find it very comforting to know that deer eyes reflect white, and apes not at all.

That is experience speaking. ;-)

Rick B

Maybe that explains why we don't find Sasquatch at night!:D
Oldfivetango

Jim Adams
12-16-2007, 09:07
Northern Pike and Muskies both shine bright red but if you see these in your headlamp beam while hiking you may want to contemplate looking for yhe bridge!

geek

mudhead
12-16-2007, 09:14
Gators.

Not where I want to be during daylight.

superman
12-16-2007, 10:08
Last summer I was hiking on the Long Trail. I was tenting alone and got up in the dark to be hiking at sunrise. As I stood up by my tent I was startled to see a pair of eye in a tree very near to my tent. I figured it was a cat of some kind...maybe closing in for the kill! All I had was a little photon light that was dying and couldn't even light the ground next to me very well. I remembered where there had been a branch on the ground so I threw it at the eyes. The eyes seemed to disappear. I continued to pack my gear up as the dawn got closer. Every once in a while, I saw the eyes but I just kept packing up. The dawn light suddenly became bright enough for me to see. It had been an owl.

budforester
12-16-2007, 10:32
I found Ranger Rosie's site (http://www.natureshift.org/rangerR/forest/eyeshine.html). It's kind cute; point at the pic to light it up. I didn't google up a universal, authoritative source.

Lilred
12-16-2007, 10:46
I've always seen a green reflection from deer eyes. Green for deer and red for bear is what I was always told.

sasquatch2014
12-16-2007, 11:07
This account was told to me by a friend who lived and hunted in the Wind River Mts of Wyoming but the lesson is still good for back here as well.

He and his father were hauling their elk out to their camp and it got dark so they strapped on their head lamps. a while down the trail they noticed the reflection from an eye so they made noise to scare it off. When they did this the one eye that they saw became two eyes and as my friend said to me it way much to low to be a deer or elk it also did not bolt when it heard the commotion. The thing that really made him stop in his tracks was that the two eyes were a good foot and a half apart. at this time his father fires off his handgun twice in the air which causes the animal to cock its head like a dog that was not sure of what it just saw or heard. The two eyes that were a foot and a half apart now raised up and were now also 6 1/2 to 7 feet off the ground. They left the elk and quickly went the other way while watching the eyes slowly walk to their kill. They came back the next day to notice that there was almost nothing left of their game and the prints where some of the biggest bear prints that he had ever seen.

Lesson. I franky don't care what color the eyes are when they are spread wide apart and taller than me it's time to go. :D

and no my eyes don't reflect at night.

Wanderingson
12-16-2007, 12:51
Bad link--Let's try this again:

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1463-5224.2004.00318.x

sasquatch2014
12-27-2007, 12:30
On the reflection note if you are night hiking north of I-84 in NY don't freak if you see something reflecting. There are reflective tacks on some trees to aid in night hiking up to the shelter. Most are hidden in the blazes and not visable in the daylight unless you know what to look for.

Frosty
12-27-2007, 13:19
Cool. About all I know is that a deer's are bright white.This was taken on the Long Path. I was about six feet from the deer at the time. I don't know why the flash went off, but clearly this is Bambi's evil twin.

Lilred
12-27-2007, 13:21
that's a great shot

Hikerhead
12-27-2007, 13:40
A unique aspect to the moose is the lack of reflectivity in their eyes. In the dark, a deer is noticeable by its reflective eyes, making car accidents avoidable at times if seen at enough of a distance away from the animal. But a moose's eyes are not reflective at all. By the time you realize what's in front of you its too late to avoid a collision. :eek:


I always wondered if the eyes of moose reflected like deer, thanks for that info.

I suppose that's why the roads are almost void of traffic after dark in prime moose areas and you see a lot of crazy skid marks.

woodsy
12-27-2007, 13:53
I always wondered if the eyes of moose reflected like deer, thanks for that info.

I suppose that's why the roads are almost void of traffic after dark in prime moose areas and you see a lot of crazy skid marks.
Good observation about those skid marks Hikerhead, telltale sign of moose crossings when you see the road black with skid marks, some off those could be mine!:eek: I had one Moose about a mile south of the AT & RT 27 near Sugarloaf come running out in the daytime while driving down the road and try to broadside me, i swerved and missed it.!! They are scary enough in the daytime! I won't go into those heart pounding night time incidents.

warraghiyagey
12-27-2007, 13:58
Good observation about those skid marks Hikerhead, telltale sign of moose crossings when you see the road black with skid marks, some off those could be mine!:eek: I had one Moose about a mile south of the AT & RT 27 near Sugarloaf come running out in the daytime while driving down the road and try to broadside me, i swerved and missed it.!! They ares scary enough in the daytime! I won't go into those heart pounding night time incidents.
I definitely took notice of the difference in country driving in NY and when I was driving with Dawn from Shaws in Maine. In NY you slow a little so that if you see a deer you might be able to miss it. In Maine people drive really slow so as not to die if they hit a moose.

Hikerhead
12-27-2007, 14:01
Woodsy, I first put the skid marks and moose together the first time I drove thru Franconia Notch. Numerous skid marks not in a straight line but going around in circles. You could almost tell that someone just dove down into their seat and pulled the wheel as hard as they could to one side. I drove from Portland to Baxter in the dark one time. No cars on the road and I took it slow and stayed on moose alert the whole way, no moose though.

mudhead
12-27-2007, 18:38
Moose eyes will reflect a tiny bit.

Abol Bridge. 3AM. Was heading to Baxter entrance. Saw a bunch of deer, very reflective, scatter. Big sigh. This is gonna take forever, as I slow to 15mph. Roll down the window, stick my elbow out, and suck on my coffee. I hear a horse clip-clopping next to my ear. What is a horse-whoops. Tag the brakes and a smallish moose trots out in front of me and looks back over it's shoulder. They glow, from about 15 feet. So then I don't want to spaz it, and it won't go to the side, 12mph until we got past the open water area and it made a left on the road to some camps. Didn't it hit the turbos once it got on gravel. Damnest thing. Trotting on pavement while looking back over it's shoulder. Goofy.

If you can see the reflection I would say you are within kicking range, or had better duck.

sasquatch2014
12-27-2007, 18:43
I definitely took notice of the difference in country driving in NY and when I was driving with Dawn from Shaws in Maine. In NY you slow a little so that if you see a deer you might be able to miss it. In Maine people drive really slow so as not to die if they hit a moose.

Personaly I think that most people in NY slow to see if they can get the deer to jump past the front of their car and into the oncoming lane rather than just driving like a normal person but that is just my take on it having moved back this way after 12 years out west.

You want to talk about a pucker factor while driving I once (I was tired and should have pulled over) drove right through a herd of elk. How I came through without hitting any of them I don't know. I would guess that there were close to 50 head in the herd and they were on both sides of the road. It took 10 miles to dig my fingernails out of the steering wheel and another 20 miles after that before my butt unclenched the seat of the car. I drove to the next town with my nose on the windshield looking for more elk. This was dead of winter in the middle of South Park Co. Yes there is a South Park Colorado for real folks.

turtle fast
12-27-2007, 19:06
Yep a bears eyeshine is red. I was night hiking the NCT in the UP of Michigan and needed to make up some miles and ended on a short road walk....walking along the road I saw alot of eyeshine from deer, small animals, etc. Then I saw eyeshine I never saw before....red and coming towards me. I began walking backwards trying to figure out what this was and I was aware that I was hiking in prime bear territory and sure enough I caught a glimpse of a black bear....being black it was hard to see as this night the moon was no help and it was very dark. I banged my hiking poles togeather with no avail, sang songs, and kept my lamp on him walking backwards. This went on for a quarter mile down the road with the bear not letting up. I then noticed another pair of red eyes behind it a ways and getting closer to the primary bear following me. I strained to get a glimpse and I could tell this was no cub. Crap. Here I thought I was about to be a main course at a bear buffet. Then my headlamp decides to die on me, a fast death....I swithched to a lower setting to conserve what I had all while walking backwards with my bear parade in tow. The first bear was hiking with me at about 100feet give or take, me singing, and the third member keeping up behind the primary bear. This becaqme a half a mile now, and I kept walking and cursing my headlamp for dying at the best time when I was about to be a midnight snack. Luckily the eyeshine became laging behind...I dont know but I think the second bear caught up with the primary bear behind me....I kept walking backward all the way to the next trailhead fueled by adrenalene. I put my pack down, propped myself against it and slept! I awoke the next morning feeling great and kept hiking!

sheepdog
12-27-2007, 19:21
I was always told most predators shine red. Racoons are green. Most predators see in color and most prey animals see in black and white. I've seen mink and weasels in a spot light and they are definately red.

middle to middle
03-29-2009, 12:29
Its the spider eyes that spook me. Sasquach and one eye I can deal with.

Nasty Dog Virus
06-22-2009, 09:48
One species can reflect back different colors depending on the color of the animals eyes. My 2 cats have different color eyes (one blue/one green) and each eye reflects back a different color at night.

but I have no idea if bears, deer, ect have different color eyes?

Spogatz
06-22-2009, 11:17
I always liked the scene in the Peewee Herman movie where he is in the desert in the dark and all of the eyes start to light up. Then he strikes a match and is surrounded by animals of all types.

Frosty
06-22-2009, 11:39
Cool. About all I know is that a deer's are bright white.Taken on the the Long Path during the 2007 ATC Bicentennial in Ramapo.