A number of memes have caught our predator eyes lately, and got us thinking about the predator-prey relationship of various puppets and toys.
“The Furby’s eyes are on the front of the head,” one iconic but now deleted tweet explains, “which implies that it’s a predator.” Another makes a similar observation, but about the Cookie Monster – which must be terrifying for its natural enemy, the cookie.
This got us thinking about other puppets, and what their physiology tells us about their hunter/huntee status. Eye shape, position, and pupil shape all tell us about animals’ lives.
Animals with eyes at the sides of their head, which have horizontally-elongated pupils, are likely to be prey.
“Having eyes towards the side of their head helps them to see nearly all around them. Having a horizontal pupil enhances the amount of light they can receive in front of and behind them while reducing the amount of light from above and below,” Gordon Love, professor of physics at Durham University and author of a paper on the topic explained in the Conversation in 2015. “This allows them panoramic vision along the ground to help detect potential predators as early as possible. The horizontal pupil also enhances the image quality of horizontal planes and this enhanced view at ground level is also an advantage when running at speed to escape.”
Meanwhile, predators do tend to have eyes at the front of their heads, giving them a wider field of binocular vision (and the depth perception that comes with it) helping them to focus on their prey.
While interesting to learn about adaptions in the real world, it turns out it should not be applied to fictional animals for a very simple reason: all of them – from Big Bird to Spongebob Squarepants – turn out to be predators. Very few designers go for the eyes at the side of the head look, with the notable exception of Rod Hull’s Emu.
Alf, like Big Bird and Gonzo, has forward-facing eyes, implying that they are predators. Kermit, while his eyes are not spaced out to the side of the head like an actual frog, does have pupils that are slit in a way that would be useful for spotting predators.
What we’re basically saying is that there are a whole lot of predator puppets, and the only prey we can see around these parts is Emu and Kermit. Make of that what you will.
Source Link: Internet Figures Out Which Muppets Are Predators And Which Are Prey Based On Their Eyes
