Posted by john rankin on February 13, 2006

Q: i got a nighttime flash picture of a mountain lion. as it was looking directly at the camera, its eyes reflected the flash. one eye in the photo is yellow and the other is distinctly greenish yellow.

what is the true color of this mammals eyes when reflecting headlights, flashlights or camera flash ?

Habitat: forest/open woods

State: Colorado

Habitat: forest/open woods

A: Wow, I'm impressed and a bit envious! There are people who go a lifetime without ever seeing a Mountain Lion, let alone photograph one. I really can't tell you the "true" color of its eyeshine since so few people ever get to see it. I'm guessing that the one eye got a rather direct hit by the flash while the other did not and that is why the difference in color. Which is the actual color is anyone's guess. Thanks for sharing.

John Wiessinger ( February 14, 2006)

A: My apologies. I was checking out my "questions sent" info and it seems your answer never went. I really did send one earlier!

First off, I think the fact that you got a picture of a Mountain Lion is really incredible. How many people ever get to see one in the wild? Very impressive!!!

I'm not at all sure what the "true" color of their eyeshine would be. I'm guessing that the flash from your camera hit one eye at enough of a different angle that it caused this difference in color. Different animals do indeed have different eyeshine colors depending on the makeup of the tapedum lucidum but I can't say what a Mountain Lion's would be. Thanks for the question and I hope you get many more shots in the future.

John Wiessinger ( February 15, 2006)