Follow the Kat's Eyes of the Dark
Night
A cat's eyes bounce back part of the incoming
light like focused reflectors. A lens and curved mirror inside the
animal's eye return light--shaping it into a cone and sending it
back, nose on, to the light source. Cats' eyes are like bicycle
taillights but not for the same reason. Cats get no competitive
advantage from shining eyes. Instead their reflectors make better
use of dim light when they hunt at
night.
Humans' eyes don't have a similar mirror but many animals do:
whales, dolphins, horses, hippos, antelopes, dogs,
rats.
Eyes of animals with backbones evolved in a weird way--as an
outgrowth of the brain--so eyes are functionally inside out. Nerves
inside the eye that send messages to the brain are really part of
the brain. And that causes a clutter problem in the eye. Unlike
cameras, with their clean open space between shutter and film, a
tangle of structures crowds the space between pupil and retina--the
light receptors. Light has a tough job getting through this jungle.
Only about ten percent makes it to and gets absorbed by the
retina--the film in a camera.
That's why cats
have mirrors in the back of their eyes. The mirrors give the retina
a second chance to capture photons it missed on the first pass.
What's more, the mirror is close to the retina so less intervening
clutter absorbs the reflected photons.
The more light the
retina absorbs, the better the cat sees. The better the cat sees in
dim light, the better it hunts at night. That's why cats' eyes are
like bicycle taillights. To hunt and eat better.
Put new batteries in you flashlight, dawn
your black clothing, pick the sleep from your eyes, get the
lint from your belly button, park at the coordinates listed,
do 10 jumping jacks in the corner of the parking lot, kick
the Kat if you see her, she is black as night, turn on your
flash light, shine all around, the Kat will see you before
you see her, shine down at first, then up for the next, first
set of eyes will be two by two, next eyes will be like the
cyclops of old, follow the eyes but never stray to far, 10
feet should be plenty to see the next set of eyes, hope your
flash light is strong, with a tight beam, for 100 feet could
be a stretch, don't go backwards for you'll get nowhere,
waiting for you will be two Kat's with two eyes, from the
final Kat you won't shine far, but only 10 or so feet lays
the treasure you seek shining with only a single
eye.
Depending on how strong your candle is you
may see more then one set of eyes, go to the closer one first
just to be safe. When is the best time to see the
reflectiveness of an animals eyes? At night when some
animals are more active. Your going to have to be
active at night to get this one. Difficulty can vary
depending on the time of
year..............................
