We have all seen it…on trail cams and in fields.  Shining eyes in the darkness.  They move silently and vanish like a ghost.

We’ve talked about the amazing eyes of a deer before.  Explaining away all the odd and astonishing features they have through science but maybe there is another, more ominous explanation.  Every supernatural creature has glowing eyes.  It can’t be coincidence! 

The scientific explanation for a deer’s glowing eyes is the tapetum lucidum – a membrane which reflects light back through the receptor layer of the retina passing it through twice.  Sure it helps critters see better in the dim light of the night.  But what else comes out after dark?

Goblins and ghouls; fairies and nymphs; witches and warlocks – all have glowing eyes and the ability to vanish into thin air.  They have a bit too much in common with our beloved deer.  

We are able to catch these spirits of the forest and even fit a collar.  But all the high-tech tracking devices don’t help us see them after that.  We almost never lay eyes on them in the woods again.  On more than one occasion we have set out with receiver in hand to find these deer only to spend the day wandering aimlessly with no deer in sight.  

So given the evidence, I firmly believe that deer are supernatural creatures.  A marvel and a wonder to behold.  Those shining eyes in the night are Mother Nature’s way of letting us see a little bit of that magic. 

-Jeannine Fleegle
Biologist

PGC Deer and Elk Section

 


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