You won’t believe what happens to a reindeer’s eyes in the cold. Explains the world – O2

We can’t tell the difference from a distance. These animals have huge pupils, so the color of the iris is almost imperceptible in them. Neuroscientist Glenn Jeffrey of University College London looked at the case. In his hands came a bag with … reindeer eyes. The case went to a neurologist because the scientists wanted to investigate how reindeer tolerate extreme changes in light conditions during the changing seasons. The search results were surprising.

It turned out that the eyes of animals killed in summer had a different color than those killed in winter. According to the neurologist, a neurological problem determines the discoloration.

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According to the Nauka Rocks portal, the color change occurs in the so-called. tapetum lucidum, the reflective membrane behind the retina. The procedure is like a mirror that reflects light, which then passes through the retina. This helps the reindeer’s eyes see two shots of the surroundings.

Changing eye color in winter is not unreasonable. During the winter, reindeer eyes are dilated all the time, so they can see as much as possible in areas of the Arctic Circle that receive little sunlight.

The “winter eyes” of these animals have a much higher pressure, which affects the collagen content of the reflective membrane layer. More pressure changes the way light is reflected.

I opened my eyes on the lab table and nearly fell off a chair. The differences were so dramatic I didn’t know anyone had seen anything like it before. We have evidence that blue reflection in winter amplifies ultraviolet light and suppresses it in summer. Jeffrey summed up, citing Nuka Rocks.