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Sight
A deer's eyes are located on the
side of their head, which has advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage is that deer are able to view 310 degrees around
itself. This wide view allows the deer to be totally aware
of the surroundings, even when it is staring straight ahead.
The disadvantage is that deer cannot focus
on one location with both eyes. This causes the deer to have
very poor depth perception. Deer also see at a lower resolution
than humans, and are believed to be color blind.
Deer are nocturnal animals. Nocturnal means
that deer can see at night, which is one of the reasons they
are more active at night. Deer have more light-detecting cells
in their eyes than humans, which aids their nocturnal vision.
Like other nocturnal animals, their eyes shine when exposed
to light at night. This is due to a reflection off a special
membrane in their eye.
It is believed that deer can also
see in the ultraviolet light range, which is abundant during
the earlier morning and late afternoon. This ability to see
better, in early morning and late afternoon, helps to explain
why deer are more active during these time periods.
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