What Colors Do Foxes See?

Subjective Experiences

• Before much can be said on the subject of what colors foxes see, it should be noted that the experience of colors, and more generally vision, is subjective. That is, it is extremely difficult to say for sure that what one person sees when they look at something red, for instance, is the same as what another person sees when they look at that same object. The name is the same, but the experience might be different. Similarly, trying to use the human experience of color to understand what a fox sees is difficult, without actually being able to experience what a fox sees.

Cones and Rods

• The parts of the body responsible for interpreting light and sending the relevant signals on to the human brain are the cones and rods in the eye. These cells are important, but serve two different purposes. Rods are those cells sensitive to low light levels, and are useful for seeing in low light and detecting movement. These cells only see in grey scale, however. The cone cells are the important cells with respect to color. Scientists wishing to understand the color capabilities of foxes look at the type and distribution of cone cells to determine what colors foxes can see.

Rod Cells

• Studies of the cone and rod cells in the eyes of dogs and foxes have found that there are far more rod cells, which only see in black and white, than there are cone cells, which are used to detect colors. What this means is that dogs and foxes are able to see well at night, and can distinguish well between different shades of grey. They can also more easily detect movement, which is important for hunting.

Cone Cells

• Studies of the cone cells of dogs and foxes have found that there are two cone pigments which tend to dominate the eyes of these animals. The first pigment is light green, or 550nm on the electromagnetic spectrum, and the other is between 430 and 440nm on the electromagnetic spectrum, which is also known as dark blue, or purple. What this means is that foxes have dichromatic vision, or their vision is limited to two colors. Foxes are likely red-green color blind, then, a color blindness shared by about six to eight percent of human beings.