Which Animals Can See In The Dark?
There are many nocturnal animals but a few of them which we are going to discuss abiut jn the article ahead are as follows: Owl, Cat, Bat, Sharks, and Cockroaches.
Owl
Owl is the first animal to cross one’s mind while mentioning nocturnal animals. They find prey at night with their great senses of sensitive hearing and night vision. They have big eyes and extraordinary eyeball rotation which allows them great night vision.
Cat
You must have noticed the eyes of your pet cat glowing brightly during the nighttime. This is because of their great night vision. Cats have a greater number of rod cells than cones cells in comparison to humans. Their rods-to-cones ratio is eight times that of a human. This allows them to capture more light rays enhancing their vision.
Bat
Bats are famous for their preying skills at night. Bats don’t generally have that good night vision. They are more sensitive to touch and hearing. They use vibrations (sound waves of different spectrums) to locate their prey.
Sharks
Sharks live deep in the water where light is hard to penetrate. To find prey they use their sharp sense of vision and smell. They are most active during dusk and dawn. They can also sense electric fields.
Cockroaches
Ever wondered why you find cockroaches roaming around in huge numbers during nighttime? This is because they unfortunately have great night vision as well. They have some of the most light-sensitive receptors in the world which causes all the problems for us. They can manage a great vision at the lowest of light levels.
Foxes
Foxes are one of the most renowned night predators along with the wolves. Foxes are small in size and can be easy prey for day animals like lions, eagles etc. Being nocturnal helps them survive. Moreover, they prey on insects and rodents which they find plenty of at night. Hence, they have great night vision as well.
- Many insects and fishes have great night vision as well. This is their survival strategy as it helps them survive from being prey to large daytime animals.
This Is How Animals See In The Dark
There are various factors that allow certain animals to see well in dark. Animals who can see well in the dark are called nocturnal animals. They stalk and sense their prey during the night and hunt them down.
Some of the reasons for the sharp vision of these night animals are listed below:
Size of eye
Many night animals have the size of their eyes much bigger in comparison to their other body parts or according to their body ratio. Some animals have eyes even bigger than humans.
The size of their pupils can be even bigger. The expansion ratio of their pupils is also much more than humans and other day animals.
Structure of eye
The eyes of nocturnal animals differ from day animals in various ways. Lens are present to the pupil. Their pupils are overly sensitive as well. The retina is also present close to the lens to allow as much light can to fall on the retina.
They in addition to overly sensitive eyes have an extraordinary rotation of the eyeballs (owls).
Electromagnetic spectral range
Humans cannot interpret many light waves from different spectrums and thus have limited eyesight. Nocturnal animals can interpret light waves from a large range of the electromagnetic spectrum. They can visualize even ultraviolet(bats) and infrared(certain snakes) light rays.
Rods and cones ratio
Retina has two types of light-sensitive cells called rods and cones. Rods are assigned with image formation while cones work to identify and focus on color formation in the image. These two cells together work to produce bright, detailed, and colorful images on the retina to be interpreted by the brain and provide us with vision.
The number of rod cells in nocturnal animals is generally higher to allow them to collect the least of the light rays available at night and help them with their vision.
The lesser number of cone cells is the reason for the lack of details and grey image formation in them and blurry vision.
Along with great night vision, nocturnal animals have an over-sensitive sense of touch, smell, and hearing as well. These factors combined make them great night predators.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why do the eyes of my cat glow red during the nighttime?
Night animals have tapetum in their eyes which allows the lights passing from their retina to fall again on their retina acting like a mirror. This tapetum glows brightly at night and is evidence of your cat’s great night vision.
Which animal sees the best at night?
The best night vision would be definitely of an owl. They are night kings and one of the best night predators.
Are rodents nocturnal?
Certain species of rodents like rats, and mice are nocturnal. This is why you can find traces of rats roaming around your house at night in the mornings.
Will rats crawl on me at night?
Rats are nocturnal and roam around at night time. They can crawl up on you at night during their food hunt but mostly will not bite you.
