The second type of eye is found in prey animals such as the deer, moose, horse and goat and assists in the location of food and avoiding predators. It s that simple. As a safety factor, deer hunters should be aware of what the deer can really see. It is evident that deer have wonderful vision because of the species survival. Deer were on the evolutionary scene long before man and are still present in ever increasing numbers.
Deer have a typical prey animal eye.
Eyes are placed laterally on the head to provide a combined visual field of over 300 degrees with only a 30 to 50 degree overlap for binocular or stereoscopic vision. Since deer are ordinarily herd animals, this wide field of vision provides protection while feeding or moving through an area. Once an object is located in the huge field of visual attention, a more distinctive image may be observed in the narrow binocular field if necessary. If the image is strange or makes a threatening movement, a hasty retreat soon takes place. Every hunter is familiar with the low running flight - usually with an object between the hunter and the deer.