When it comes to a lot of natural abilities, humans are by far top of the pile.
We can use tools like cutlery and computers and surgical equipment to improve our lives and society as a whole.
We can conceive complex, multidimensional ideas, and project into the future and think back long into the past.
And when it comes to vision, well, we can see pretty well. We can perceive a decent range of the colour spectrum. We can see stars that are millions of light-years away. And we can see minute details as small as 0.1 millimetres, including those new tiny creases at the corner of your eyes.
Each animal’s vision is adapted for their particular circumstances and environment, so it’s difficult to say one is “better” than the other. But the fact is, there are several animals that could be said to outdo us in the vision department.
Take the leaf-tailed gecko. These little reptiles have vertical pupils that contain a series of “pinholes” that widen at night, allowing for incredible night vision—up to 350 times better than a human.
Or how about goats. As well as being able to eat everything, including poison ivy, they have rectangular pupils that allow for up to 340-degree field of vision—meaning they can be grazing with their head down, but all the while be starting right at you.
We’re going to take a closer look at some of these incredible visual wonders of the animal kingdom. In particular, we’ll explore some of the best peepers around, so you can decide for yourself how your vision stacks up
