Coyote Vision

[wyshadow]

Are domesticated dog's vision the same as coyote's vision? I ask because yesterday I was out hunting prairie dogs and I noticed a coyote trotting away from about 200 yards away from me. As I was following him through my scope, I could clearly see him/her look right at me.

I was sitting next to a fence line full of tumble weeds and the only big movements were swing my wildcat left and right.

I started reading about coyotes vision and all I could pull up are how good coyotes can see at low light and dark conditions but nothing about how will or clear they can see during the day. Most of the information I see are only about domesticated dogs sight. 

According from what I could read, dogs have a 20/75 vision but they can still see objects move over 1/2 mile. That to me doesn't make sense. If a dog's sight is that bad, how can they see movement that far? Are coyote's vision about the same as a domesticated dog? My father in law thinks a coyote might have a better vision because they have to depend more on it then our dogs.

 

[JCD]

That's beyond me but I can say with certainty that my dog know exactly where my neighbor's dog is if the wind is in the right direction. And that dog is at lest 200 yards away and there is a tree line in the way. Prob a combo of sight, smell and sound.

 

[gamyrick]

Canines have an incredible sense of smell and excellent hearing. He could have smelled or heard you. I was staked out hunting a fox. There was no way he could see me but when I clicked the safety off, he looked right at me and then bolted. He came back a few minutes later and I dropped him. If he had seen me, he wouldn't have come back to the same spot. I hadn't moved and he would have seen that I was still there.

 

[Bakerman]

A canine's senses have evolved to make them the best they can be in both avoiding danger and finding prey so as to survive. It's true that their hearing and sense of smell are extremely advanced to achieve those goals. Their vision must also be outstanding but only as far as their natural capacities will allow. The size of their brains and it's computational limitations, while allowing extraordinary detecting of movement, do not have the higher brain power to discern and identify shapes very well. You can stand 25 yards in front of a dog in plain view and if the dog can't  smell, hear, or see you move it won't be able to tell if you are a tree or a person.

It will see you, or a bush, or a tree, but doesn't have the brain capacity to tell the difference unless smell, hearing , or motion triggers what his brain can identify. It takes a more developed brain to compute the identity of an object, it is a very complicated problem only solved by our brains and perhaps other more advanced animals. Thumb through a magazine with a dog and they will have no interest at all; but your brain can calculate that this picture is a cat, or this picture is a person, etc. I would think that other canine species from which dogs evolved are likewise limited in shape identification. 

Steve - Army dog handler in Vietnam and, on a 2nd Tour, Commander of a dog platoon there.

 

[BlackICE]

I don't disagree with your assessment of a dog's brain and vision. In contrast to a dog a crow with just a tiny bird brain has much better vision and can tell the difference between many types of objects.

 

[Miforest]

yes, crows have smaller brins , but they are specialized for sight only . their sense of smell and hearing are nothing compared to canines. I think the point is that canine brain power is first for smell , second for heating and third for sight . that would make sense for a predator that is mainly active at night .

 

[Bitey]

It's not just signal processing but the sensors themselves (rods vs. cones and lens size). Birds' eyes are huge compared to their heads.