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Top 15 Animals with The Most Beautiful Eyes

All animals are beautiful. However, some are more striking than others. Especially when you look into their eyes!

Animal eyes see the world differently to you and I. Cats, for instance, can see easily in the dark because they’re nocturnal, while owls possess incredible binocular vision in order to track down their prey. Some animal eyes can even see many more colors than we can!

When you look into an animal’s eyes, it’s easy to feel an instant connection – at least if you’re an animal lover myself, anyway. And we all have eyes, after all, so that’s an instant similarity. But just like with humans’, not all animal eyes are created equal. Some are more beautiful than others. So which animal has the most beautiful eyes?

From cats to penguins, dragonflies to chameleons, here are 15 of the most beautiful animal eyes I’ve ever seen.

Huskies

Huskies eyes

Huskies are famous for their striking blue eyes. But did you know it’s actually an eye condition that causes this captivating feature? Siberian huskies have a condition known as heterochromia, which causes them to lose pigmentation in the iris, which can lead to the two irises being two different colors.

This condition is also common in humans, and it occurs for a number of reasons. For most, however, they are simply born that way.

I don’t know about you, but I think this condition gives them a unique and beautiful feature. Some people would go to all lengths to get eyes like that!

Owls

Owl eyes

When you think of the coolest animal eyes, owl eyes are bound to come to mind. Large, round, and unmoving, an owl is said to have seamless vision. These nighttime predators sit at an angle and face directly forward, which gets them perfect binocular vision. No wonders owls don’t miss a trick!

While their eyes can’t roll like ours can, owls can move their heads all the way around. Now, that’s something we unfortunately can’t do! And this is why they have a 270 degree range of vision without having to move.

Owls have excellent night vision, which enables them to track down their prey. Unlike other nocturnal animals, owls can also see well during the day. No wonder they’re known to be wise! When you can see so much, so clearly, you’re bound to end up a little wise.

Geckos

Gecko

Leopard geckos are another animal with beautiful eyes. Some might even call them more curious and intriguing than beautiful. Whatever you want to call them, you can’t deny there’s something alluring about their peepers.

Leopard geckos have striations on their eyes, giving their peepers a large, marble effect. It’s hard not to be intrigued when you look into this animal’s eyes.

The only trouble is, since they detect their food based on movement, a gecko won’t eat if he develops problems with his eyes.

Pigeons

Pidgeon

It may not be your first choice, but I think pigeons have totally cool eyes. Especially the most common reddish-yellowish variety. There’s something just so fierce about them! Not that I gaze too frequently into a pigeon’s eyes! Usually they’re flying into me, so technically we do get up close and personal – just not eye-personal. That said, you can see the vivid eyes of a pigeon from miles away. You don’t need to get close.

You can’t help but wonder when you see that blank yet slightly fierce stare what’s going on in his mind. Can he see me? Is he planning on flying into me? Who knows…

Cats

Cat

And when I say cats, I mean all of them – domestic cats, lions, tigers, and all other members of the cat family. In fact, I think cats have the most beautiful eyes among all animals and humans. Striking, fierce, and utterly stunning, it’s hard not to admire them for their mesmerizing eyes.

Even eye makeup looks are inspired by cats – aka, “cat eye.” And this has been a trend since Ancient Egyptian times. Clearly, humans have admired cats’ eyes for centuries. And it’s not hard to see why. I must admit I’m a teeny bit envious of those almond shaped dazzlers!

Besides having night vision, did you know that cats are red/green color blind? They’re also extremely sensitive to movement – although you probably already know this if you’re a cat-owner like myself. How many times has she pounced unexpectedly?

And to top it all off, cats have great peripheral vision. According to experts, they can see 200 degrees. We can only see 180 degrees!

Dragonflies

DragonFly

Dragonflies are aerobatic hunters renowned for their gigantic eyes, which give them the optical perceptivity to capture prey in mid-air. Vision is so important to a dragonfly as it’s their primary means of navigating and seizing food.

Clearly, dragonfly eyes are intriguing. However, that’s not all there is to say about them. According to animal experts, some dragonflies can also see colors that we can’t. One of those colors is ultraviolet.

Penguins

Penguin

These Antarctic birds look constantly surprised for a reason. Penguins need to be able to see clearly both on land and underwater. Thus, their corneas are much flatter and their lenses much softer and adjustable than ours in order to form a sharp image on land and underwater.

Basically, a penguin’s eye must change the shape of the lense so they can see clearly underwater without the blurriness we would experience without wearing goggles.

When you discover all the abilities of these animals, it’s fascinating to learn how they navigate through the world. They have some ridiculously cool superpowers – that they were actually born with!

Tarsiers

Tarsiers

Tarsiers have beautifully distinctive eyes. Some may call them “odd” or “ugly,” but personally I find them compelling. After all, they’re so much larger than human eyes. Interestingly, a tarsier’s eyes are greatly out of proportion when compared to the rest of their body. Approximately 1.5 centimeters in diameter, each eye is around the same size as the animal’s brain. Wow!

Tarsiers have a wide-eyed gaze to thrive in their nocturnal lifestyle. They have a reflective layer behind the retina known as the tapetum lucidum. When light passes through the retina, some of it is absorbed and the remainder hits the tapetum lucidum which is then reflected back through the retina.

Thanks to their excellent eyesight, tarsiers can easily find prey at night. It allows them to navigate and capture food.

Horses

HorseEyes

Horses are beautiful, majestic animals. Their eyes look a lot like human eyes. They express fear and sadness just as vividly as they express love and affection. While they may not look incredibly unique in comparison to other animals, horse eyes are undoubtedly beautiful.

With long eyelashes and blazing radiance, horses really are breathtaking. Gaze into the eyes of a horse, and trust me, you’ll be in love.

If you’ve ever been close to a horse in person, you’ll know what a wonderful experience it is to pat him, stroke him, and look into his eyes. You may even feel a friendship coming on. And if you ever need someone to talk to, you can rely on the empathetic eyes of a horse to soothe your worries immediately.

Giraffes

Giraffe eye

Most women would kill for lashes like those on a giraffe! So long, so fluttery, so lush. What’s not to love about giraffe eyes? They’re gorgeous!

It’s rare to see wild animals with such long, lush eyelashes, which is what makes giraffes super special.

According to scientists, giraffes have long lashes to protect their eyes from big prickly trees called acacias. It would be quite easy to get poked in the eye when eating from a tree with thorns. Hence, the reason giraffes are born with naturally lush lashes.

As for their general sight, giraffes have high visual acuity, allowing them to live in wide open spaces. Color vision also enables giraffes to select ripe fruit and fresh leaves.

Horseflies

Horsefly

Horseflies are famous for their bright, vivid eyes, marked with bars, zig-zags, or colored dots. Like most insect eyes, a horsefly’s eyes are packed with thousands of light-sensitive columns that combine to create a compound eye that covers almost the entire sides of his head.

These flies are attracted to polarized light, and females find prey by tracking down polarized beams coming off its hair. Fascinating stuff, right?

While you might not agree that a horsefly’s eyes are beautiful, you may want to define what you consider “beautiful.” In my book, beautiful means anything interesting, intriguing, and unusual.

Dogs

Dog eye

I absolutely have to include dogs in this list, since I LOVE nothing more than to look into my dog’s eyes whenever I’m craving a little affection. I know you’re not supposed to. Dogs see it as a threat. But I try not to do it to threaten him. I try to look into his eyes when he’s not staring directly at me so I can appreciate him from a distance.

It doesn’t matter the dog breed, I’m sure any dog-owner on here would agree that dogs have beautiful eyes. Sweet, loving, and trusting, it’s hard not to fall in love with a dog’s eyes.

Of course, all dog eyes are a little different. Some are softer (like that of a labrador) while others are a little more direct (like that of a chihuahua or pug). But to me, all of them are beautiful!

Chameleons

Chameleon

Chameleons may be famous for their color changing ability, but that’s not all that’s cool about them. These reptiles have mesmerizing eyes that look as interesting as they act. Did you know that they can change their eyes independently? Yup, a chameleon can focus on two different things at once thanks to their 360-degree vision. What’s more, they can focus on things at amazing speed.

Imagine if you could do the same. Now wouldn’t that be a cool ability to have? You could do some pretty cool stuff with that superpower.

Mantis Shrimps

Mantis Shrimp

Mantis shrimps have incredible eyes. In fact, scientists say they have the most incredible visual system in the animal kingdom. For starters, they have really good vision – like crazy clear! In addition to that, mantis shrimps have 12 different color receptors. That means they can see way more colors than we can!

So, there’s a whole world of colors out there we can’t even begin to imagine. How extraordinary!

White Terns

White Terns

With their big black doey eyes, they’re basically the bird version of Bambi. There’s not much to brag about in regards to their eye abilities. I’m choosing this for pure aesthetics. You’ve got to admit. Their eyes are stunning!

Then again, most bird eyes are beautiful. Since birds need to be super aware and diligent to fight food and fend off predators, they typically have wide eyes for excellent vision.

If I were a bird, these would be the eyes I’d want.

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