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Do Animals See Color?
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Imagine a black and white world? What
if nature did not have color? How could we then enjoy the beautiful
rainbow or the setting sun? A terrible idea, isn't it? We
assume that all living creatures can see color just like us,
but this is not true.
Scientists have done
many experiments of different creatures to find out if animals see
color. Tests have been done on bees and
they do see color. In one of the experiments that was
conducted, a little syrup was placed on a blue card. Then this blue
card and another red card were both placed near the bees. After a
while, it so happened that the bees chose to come near the blue card
no matter where it was placed AND whether or not it had any syrup on
it. This meant that the bees remembered that the blue card had
initially contained some syrup and continued to go towards the blue
card, in hope of getting some more. This proved that they could
distinguish between the two colors. |
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Additionally it was found out that a
bee cannot see the color red (any red object is seen as
black or grey) and it is able to see ultra violet
(we humans cannot see ultra-violet light).
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Some
experiments were done with hens and they too
were able to tell the difference between colors, but the
biggest surprise came when scientists tested dogs.
They found out that our best friend, the wonderful dog,
CANNOT SEE COLOR! All the experiments have
proved this. Many times we may feel that our dog is responding
to the color of a ball or toy, but actually he/she is
looking at the shape or smell. But, to compensate for
not seeing color, dogs have an excellent sense of
smell.
It is also
known that monkeys and apes are good at separating
colors, but in general, most mammals are
color blind! |
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No one has been able
to tell us exactly why some animals are color-blind, but one
possible explanation is that most mammals do their hunting
at night and therefore do not depend on color to catch their prey.
Most animals are usually dull themselves (black, brown, grey in
color) and this is a good safety device, because they blend in with
nature and will not be easily caught by enemies.
Nature is indeed very clever and knows what every creature will need
to survive. So, we need to respect nature for all its wisdom! |
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