WHY A RABBITS EYES ARE PLACED ON THE SIDE OF THEIR HEAD…. and other facts about rabbit eyesight.
Here’s something for you to try. Place a treat directly in front of your rabbit’s nose and then see how long it takes for them to see it. You may of course already have noticed this phenomenon but if you haven’t then you may be surprised at how long it takes for them to find it. But why is this?
In the wild rabbits are largely prey animals. This of course means they need to be constantly alert. In terms of survival then the more a rabbit can see the better. And the fact that their eyes are placed on the side of the head, thus giving them near 360 degree vision, is part of nature’s design – it gives them, what we may term a fighting chance.
This type of vision though means that the rabbit will have a blind spot and the blind spot is roughly one of 10 degrees in front of the nose and chin, so, apparent blindness is explained.
Another implication associated with this type of vision is that the rabbit has no or at least very little sense of depth. Which begs yet another question, that being, how do they measure distance? Pertinent when it comes to escaping a predator especially.
The answer lies in something called parallax. And this works very simply but very cleverly – by bobbing the head up and down – we’ve seen them do it – they assess how much the object they are viewing moves. The less it moves the further away it is.
For us these differences in eyesight would be problematical but for the rabbit it sits nicely alongside our human definition of 20/20 vision – meaning of course near perfect!
Finally do rabbits see in colour?
Research shows that rabbits have sensitivities to only two colours – blue and green. As to whether this causes a problem for them we can only determine by looking at their survival rates and their general well-being. So a resounding no to that query… as there has been not been any proper argument as to why it would benefit the rabbit to see in full blown Technicolor we can safely assume that again their eyesight is fully functional and appropriate to their needs.
In captivity a rabbit has slightly different needs, although instinct remains very much intact, but basically your rabbit needs to be able to identify you and so feel happy in your approach. Whilst their vision is limited this means they must learn to depend on other clues. Smell is important to them and so it’s never a good idea to load yourself with masking body sprays. Voice is another major factor in recognition. And here I am minded by that most famous of doctors – Doctor Doolittle who advised very aptly: talk to the animals…
It’s good practise. Every time you approach your rabbit speak to them, use soft and gentle tones, call their name, if they are loose, let them take the initiative of those last few steps towards you and in this way you will come to a respectful bonding and truly lasting friendship.
Wed May 16, 2012 5:15 pm
