# Eye reflection colours...



## dintony (Aug 21, 2013)

Not sure if this has been asked before, but is there a general rule to identifying an animal by the eye shine? 

I was told native animals were red, and non native were green/other.


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## Rlpreston (Aug 21, 2013)

Hi there,

Native species will reflect different colours and brightness depending on the animal. 
It is possible to help identify a species by the colour/brightness of the eye shine with experience. 
Most nocturnal species will reflect bright red in the eye due to the tapetum (membrane covering the eye). This would explain why most 'native' eyes at night shine red, but is not a rule that can be followed to differentiate native from introduced species.

Hope this helps


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## SarahJane (Aug 21, 2013)

I believe the marsupials have red eye shine, and cats have green/blue, while foxes have bright white. I can remember something about marsupial eyes being quite different to other mammals, but I don't remember the details. In saying that I believe all the rodents will also have red eyes, native or not.


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## dintony (Aug 22, 2013)

Thanks guys! Just something I have often wondered when ever we go out spot lighting


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## junglepython2 (Aug 22, 2013)




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## Justdragons (Aug 22, 2013)

Ah devil possum.. 

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Tapatalk 2


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## jack (Aug 23, 2013)

As some one who has done a fair bit of spotlighting it is easy for me to determine foxes, cats, sheep and cattle from each other in a sweep of a light across a paddock. A possum can be a little fox like, but foxes usually aren't in trees. 
Spiders and geckos and snakes have different eyeshines also.

Colour of eyeshine is dependent upon the type of light used and the person viewing it, so saying native red etc is erroneous.


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