Leopard Eye

Leopards have greenish-golden, oval-shaped eyes. A leopard’s vision at night may be as much as six times better than a human’s eyesight. The leopard can see so well in the dark because it has reflective, or mirror-like, layers at the back of its eyes.

In the bright light, the leopard’s pupils become narrow slits. In dark surroundings, the pupils open wide to let in the most light possible. At this time, the leopard’s eyes appear to glow in the dark. Leopards have the best night vision of all the big cats. Their keen night vision makes the leopards natural nocturnal animals; that is, they hunt their prey primarily during the night time.

Leopard cubs are born with their eyes closed. When they open their eyes in about ten days, their eyes are light blue. By the time leopard cubs are about four months old, the color of their eyes has gradually changed to a greenish-golden.