Can Rabbits See in the Dark Such as At Night?

Various animal species have evolved or adapted in various ways to help them survive in their respective habitats and support their natural habits. One such adaptation is vision.

Rabbits are crepuscular animals, i.e., they are mainly active during the dawn or dusk periods or during twilight. This is when they see the best. They are not nocturnal or diurnal. Therefore, the next question is whether these lagomorphs have night vision or not, i.e., can rabbits well at night?

Before we answer the question, it is good to discuss something small on rabbit vision including their angle field of vision.

How is a rabbit vision adapted?

To begin with, a “rabbit visual system is designed--not for foraging and locomotion--but to quickly and effectively detect approaching predators from almost any direction.” [1]

Unlike human beings who have a field of vision is 180 degrees (the total angle which a person or animal can perceive while without moving the head), rabbits have a field of vision of 360 degrees since their eyes are large, protruded and set on high on their head.

This helps these animals see almost from all directions without moving their head. Unfortunately, their placement gives them a 10-degree blind spot below their chin and directly in front of the nose. This is the reason why it might be challenging for this animal to find a treat immediately or be startled if approached from this angle.

Secondly, they are farsighted. Therefore, they can be frightened by things far away such as airplanes that human beings might not be able to see. However, their sight is poor in focusing objects too close to them.

Thirdly, their color vision is not as good as ours and they may not be able to discriminate many wavelengths of light that help us see the many different colors and do not have a high resolution.

For instance, there is general speculation that these pets can be able to distinguish green and blue but not in the same manner we do.

Do rabbits have night vision?

Can rabbits see at night or not? The answer is not yes or no but it is that “rabbits’ eyes are adapted to being able to see moderately well in half-light conditions rather than extremely well in either light or dark.” [2]

This means that these pets do not see well in either very bright or very dark places. However, they can see better in an environment with low lighting (half-lit) than human beings. This supports their crepuscular behavior – being active at dawn and dusk when the natural lighting is dim.

Furthermore, rabbits do not have tapetum which works in amplifying the amount of light that enters their eyes, therefore, they might not see well in muted light like other animals. This proves that these animals cannot see well at night and do not have an enhanced night vision.

Conclusion

Whereas their vision is not so good, rabbits can recognize shapes, the manner of movement, scent and so on to detect you or a predator coming even in darkness.

Also, to compensate for their 10-degree blind spot, they use their forward placed nostril, spooning of their large eyes, to detect any predator that may be approaching from this blind spot.