the.com/eyeshine
the reason your cat's eyes flash flashlight-green in the dark like a tiny demon.
means a bright glow from an animal's eyes at night, caused by light bouncing off a mirror-like layer behind the retina.
from from the tapetum lucidum, latin for bright tapestry, a reflective layer many nocturnal animals evolved to catch every scrap of available light and bounce it back through the retina for a second chance at detection.
double vision passlight hits the retina twice, boosting night sensitivity
color varies by speciesdeer glow gold, gators glow red
humans lack itwe have no tapetum, only red-eye flash reflection
hunters use itspotlighting alligators works by scanning for red eyeshine
for instance
alligator eyes — glow ruby red under spotlights across florida swamps
cat eyes — flash green or yellow, a favorite halloween photo trick
deer on roads — reflect white-gold, causing countless night collisions in the us
spider eyeshine surveys — scientists count wolf spiders in fields using headlamp glints