Eye shapes of animals can tell us about their lifestyles by Meredith Jacques


Scientists have recently discovered that the shape of an animals' pupil is very closely related to their behaviors and niche in the world.  Predators tend to have pupils that are vertical slits (like your pet cat).  But, this only applies if they are short, and therefore their eyes are closer to the ground.  For taller animals that hunt for food, pupils tend to be more round.  For animals that are usually prey, horizontal pupils tend to be more common.  But, it turns out this is only useful when an animal's pupils are parallel to the ground.  The scientists were curious what happens when an animal moves it head down to eat (like a deer eating grass).  They decided to look at animal's eyes while they were moving their head.  They discovered that their eyes actually rotate in their heads!  The eyes rotate to keep the pupil parallel to the ground.

Why might this be useful information to know?
What does this tell us about human beings?
Who might be interested in this information other than scientists?



http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/07/430149677/eye-shapes-of-the-animal-world-hint-at-differences-in-our-lifestyles