I am curious how good the senses of rabbits are. They are not predators, so I am not sure about seeing in the dark.
What could rabbits see in the (nearly) dark?
Do they have ability to see in the (nearly) dark like cats?
asked Dec 16, 2019 at 18:11
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2Cats cannot see in the dark; they are able to see with less light than humans require, but they cannot see in the dark and are primarily crepuscular (dusk and dawn) hunters.– Allison CDec 16, 2019 at 18:17
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1 Answer
To be completely technical, no animal can see in complete darkness, although many animals see much better than us in low light levels such as the level of natural darkness that occurs at night.
According to articles such as http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/vision.html rabbits have more rod cells than humans in their eyes resulting in superior vision in comparison to humans in low light levels. However, what they see will appear grainy at lower light levels. Their vision is at its greatest acuity at medium light levels such as at dawn and dusk.
As mentioned in https://www.rabbitcaretips.com/do-rabbits-have-good-night-vision/ rabbits do not have a tapetum lucidum. This is a layer of tissue behind the retina in some animals such as cats, which reflects light back into the retina to help increase the light level they perceive, greatly improving their night vision. This is also what gives cats their distinctive eye shine when their eyes are viewed at a certain angle. At any rate, since rabbits do not have a tapetum lucidum, their night vision is still inferior to many other animals.
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and that's why they eat carrots so much, if tales are to be believed :)– jwentingDec 17, 2019 at 6:36
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1Carrots are to rabbits as chocolate is to children, more than a little is not good. See Are carrots a healthy part of a rabbit diet? Dec 17, 2019 at 13:17