Bayou Diversity 2/13/2012 - Eyeshine

In my family there are stories about lean times during the Great Depression when rabbits were a welcomed source of protein in the household larder. Most were shot at night with the aid of a carbide lantern.

Rabbits were detected by their eyeshine in the dim glow of the light. Boys, new to the venture, were reminded that because rabbits' eyes are on the side of their head, only one eye could be seen at a time.

And if, when walking through the lonely swamp at a night, a person were to detect a creature with two eyes shining, he should remember that such physiology is a trait of many predators that can see much better at night than a mere boy.