A “one-eyed deer” passed by Allie Ladd‘s trail camera in the woods of Maine, and Ladd claims it’s not the first time this deer has passed through the area. Earlier this week, Ladd shared two videos to the MAINE Wildlife Facebook group, one from Monday and one from last December. Both videos show a deer with only one functioning eye.
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It would be hard to discern whether the deer’s eyes are functioning properly during the day. However, one of its eyes doesn’t reflect light back at the trail cam at night, indicating a problem. Animals like deer, cats, raccoons, and many others have a reflective membrane called tapetum lucidum behind the retina, which makes these animals’ eyes appear to glow in the dark. This enhances the animals’ ability to see at night.
See the one-eyed deer on a trail cam here:
Here’s a second video from Ladd showing what is presumably the same deer passing by a trail cam late last year. Can you spot the one-eyed deer in the group? Look for the non-reflective eye.