The complex reality is there is not one single kind of tapetum lucidum, but rather four different classifications, all with long Latin names that we’re not going to go into here. The tapetum lucidum plays a large part in making lions such superb nocturnal hunters. Lions have a tapetum lucidum, humans do not, which is why we cannot see as well at night as the great felines. Animals that are in possession of such layers therefore have far better nocturnal vision than those that don’t, and it is this reflected light that we call eye-shine. This is a reflective layer which sends light back through the retina, greatly increasing the amount of light available to be interpreted into an image. If one looks at the above diagram of an eye, you will notice that just behind the retina (the part of the eye that converts light into neural signals to send to the brain), there is a layer called the tapetum lucidum.
So skilled are many of the trackers that from a simple combination of the colour of the eye-shine, the height of the eyes and their width apart, they can immediately tell what species it is, without actually seeing the animal itself.īut what is it that causes the actual eye-shine? Without eye-shine, it would be infinitely harder to find things after dark, as colours, shapes and patterns are far more difficult to discern in the limited beam of the spotlight. If one looks at his left, it is clear that a certain amount of light is being reflected back out of his pupil. The old Camp Pan male with a hoisted impala kill at dusk.
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