Poor eyesight in animals can be caused by a variety of factors, including genetics, injury, and environmental conditions. While some animals are able to compensate for poor eyesight with other heightened senses, such as a keen sense of smell or enhanced hearing, it can still be a hindrance in their daily lives.
Here is a list of 20 animals with poor eyesight, along with some information on how they cope with their vision deficits:
Moles
Moles are small, burrowing mammals that are known for their poor eyesight. They have small, underdeveloped eyes that are covered by a layer of skin, and are almost completely blind. Despite their blindness, moles are able to navigate through their underground tunnels with ease using their highly developed sense of touch and hearing.
Star-nosed moles
The star-nosed mole is a small, North American mole with an unusual, star-shaped appendage on its nose. This appendage, which is made up of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles, is incredibly sensitive and is used by the mole to locate prey and navigate its environment. The star-nosed mole has small, underdeveloped eyes that are almost completely buried beneath the skin, and is thought to be almost completely blind.
Bats
Bats are well-known for their excellent echolocation abilities, which they use to navigate and locate prey in the dark. While some species of bats do have good eyesight, others, such as the Egyptian fruit bat, have poor eyesight and rely almost entirely on echolocation to navigate their environment.
Whales
Whales are large, aquatic mammals that are known for their poor eyesight. While they do have eyes, they are small and not well-developed, and whales rely more on their sense of hearing and echolocation to navigate and locate prey.
Elephants
Elephants are known for their poor eyesight, which is thought to be due in part to the size of their eyes relative to the size of their head. Despite their poor eyesight, elephants are able to compensate with their excellent sense of smell and hearing, which they use to navigate and locate food and water.
Opossums
Opossums are marsupial animals that are native to the Americas. They are known for their poor eyesight, which is thought to be due to the small size and placement of their eyes on the sides of their head. Despite their poor eyesight, opossums are able to compensate with their keen sense of smell and hearing, which they use to locate food and avoid predators.
Mole rats
Mole rats are small, burrowing rodents that are native to Africa. They have small, underdeveloped eyes that are almost completely buried beneath the skin, and are thought to be almost completely blind. Despite their blindness, mole rats are able to navigate their underground tunnels with ease using their highly developed sense of touch and hearing.
Blind snakes
As their name suggests, blind snakes are snakes that are blind or have poor eyesight. They are found in a variety of habitats worldwide, including forests, deserts, and grasslands. Blind snakes have small, underdeveloped eyes that are covered by a layer of scales, and are thought to be almost completely blind. They rely on their sense of smell and touch to locate prey and navigate their environment.
Naked mole rats
Naked mole rats are small, burrowing rodents that are native to East Africa. They have small, underdeveloped eyes that are almost completely buried beneath the skin, and are thought to be almost completely blind.
Cave fish
Cave fish are fish that have adapted to life in complete darkness in underground cave systems. As a result, they have lost their eyesight over time and are either completely blind or have very poor eyesight. Cave fish rely on their sense of touch and taste to navigate and locate food in their dark environment.
Olms
Olms, also known as cave salamanders, are amphibians that are native to underground cave systems in Europe. They are completely blind and have no visible eyes, and rely on their highly developed sense of smell and touch to navigate and locate prey in their dark environment.
Cave crickets
Cave crickets, also known as camel crickets, are insects that are found in underground cave systems worldwide. They are either completely blind or have very poor eyesight, and rely on their sense of touch and smell to navigate and locate food in their dark environment.
Cave spiders
Cave spiders, also known as troglomorphic spiders, are spiders that are adapted to life in underground cave systems. They are either completely blind or have very poor eyesight, and rely on their sense of touch and smell to navigate and locate prey in their dark environment.
Worms
Worms are small, legless invertebrates that are found in a variety of habitats worldwide. Many species of worms have no eyes or have very small, underdeveloped eyes that are not well-suited for seeing. Instead, they rely on their sense of touch and taste to locate food and navigate their environment.
Shrimp
Shrimp are small, crustacean animals that are found in oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water worldwide. Many species of shrimp have small, simple eyes that are not well-developed and are not able to see much detail. Instead, they rely on their sense of touch and taste to locate food and navigate their environment.
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are aquatic animals that are found in oceans worldwide. They have simple, primitive eyes that are not well-developed and are not able to see much detail. Instead, they rely on their sense of touch and the movement of water currents to locate food and navigate their environment.
Clams
Clams are bivalve mollusks that are found in oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water worldwide. They have small, simple eyes that are not well-developed and are not able to see much detail. Instead, they rely on their sense of touch and the movement of water currents to locate food and navigate their environment.
Oysters
Oysters are bivalve mollusks that are found in oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water worldwide. They have small, simple eyes that are not well-developed and are not able to see much detail. Instead, they rely on their sense of touch and the movement of water currents to locate food and navigate their environment.
Scallops
Scallops are bivalve mollusks that are found in oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water worldwide. They have small, simple eyes that are not well-developed and are not able to see much detail. Instead, they rely on their sense of touch and the movement of water currents to locate food and navigate their environment.
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals that are related to squids and octopuses. They have complex eyes that are similar to those of humans, but their vision is not as sharp as that of most other animals. Cuttlefish are able to see some detail.