These Close-Ups of Animal Eyes are Beautiful and Strange

Looking into the eye of a gorilla, you really see how close they are genetically to human beings. Indeed, some of these photographs make you feel almost like you know the animal, or as if you can see what it’s thinking. Some of them, however, like the macaw, are downright weird.

These are taken from National Geographic’s February issue, where UK science journalist Ed Yong discusses what animal eyes are made up of and how they have evolved. He explains how it’s the animal’s evolutionary needs that have conditioned the uses and appearance of their eyes, and therefore how they see the world in different ways.

Interestingly, eyes never do the same thing across species. Rather, they have evolved to suit our needs. So the eyes of an animal will not have the same functions as the eyes of a human.

Get closer!

Green tree python
Western lowland gorilla
Domestic dog
Mossy leaf-tailed gecko
Blue-eyed black lemur
Common ostrich
Red-eyed tree frog
Scarlet macaw
White rhinoceros
Gargoyle gecko
Southern ground-hornbill
Cuban rock iguana