Why do goats have such weird eyes?

Most people are completely weirded out by goat eyes. But why are they so weird?

A goat has long horizontal pupils, making its eye seem very unusual compare to the vertical pupils of cats, or round pupils of dogs.

This has to do with the lifestyle of the animal, predator or prey, and its role in the food chain.

A cat, and other similar small predator animals that hunt in a stalk and pounce manner, have vertical pupils that allow them to take in a lot of light and judge distance, ensuring successful ambushing of their prey. This holds true for smaller animals, hunting close to the ground.

Taller predator animals such as dogs, wolves, big cats etc. have rounded pupils. These predators usually chase down their prey and their eyes are further from the ground.

While goats appear to the only ones with the freakiest eyes, they fall into the category with numerous others such as sheep and even horses! These animals are prey animals, with horizontal pupils giving them a panoramic view. This allows them to spot predators in their peripheral vision. More interesting than that, researchers found that these animals can rotate their eyes so that they are continuously parallel to the horizon, even when their head is down to graze!

So next time you find yourself chatting to a goat, take a minute to appreciate all that she is taking in, that we can’t! What a beautifully, intelligently designed world we live in!

You can read more about the study here https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/07/430149677/eye-shapes-of-the-animal-world-hint-at-differences-in-our-lifestyles