Do all guys in Texas have X-ray vision?

[Double Naught Spy]

Quick question for those who know, because I don't.

I have read that for most prey mammals, they only have rods in the retina and hence don't see color, though due to the amount/density of the rods in the retina, they see b/w and shades of gray pretty good even in low light, like at night.

would a RED LED that emits at one wavelength be invisible to a pig? Do pigs have any cones in the retina or are they all rods like many other mammals? I've always used a red led head lamp or red led flashlight to move through to a hunting area early morning before dawn because it was my understanding that deer couldn't see the red light from an LED since they have no cones in the retina.

I was wondering if pigs were the same. There was enough red light given off by the LED that close range navigation (within 5 feet) was possible at night.

thanks,
-tdbru

I believe you have read incorrectly. A lot of animals (predator, prey, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore) are red-green colorblind like deer, hogs, most (all?) canids. So they don't see color in the red end of the spectrum, but do see farther into the blue UV end of the spectrum than we do. They still see red and green things and light, but not as red or green. It is thought that those colors appear more greyish to them.

You have fallen into the classic trap of the colorblind myth. People think that when animals are colorblind, that either they don't see color or don't see anything related to a specific color. Various vendors over the years have claimed using video documentation that an animal could not see their light because the animal didn't react to the light. As I recall, Laser Genetics did this with their green light. Another red light vendor did this as well. They would light up an animal and if it didn't run, they would proclaim that they could not see the light. That just wasn't factual. Here, they assumed that a lack of reaction meant a lack of capability. I can say that if they have been shot at by hunters with red lights or green lights previously, if they see the same color light, they will run.

One benefit of a red light, however, is that it does not have the throw or shine of a white light of on the same power. You are much less apt to over-illuminate your walk with a red light than a white light.

The intensity of the light sometimes does matter. Experimenting with hogs, I found that the same process for using a white light is also appropriate for using a red light. You hit them straight on with the hotspot of your beam, but instead lower the beam down on them slowly, illuminating them with the splash of the light first and not dropping the hotspot on them if you can help it.

It has also been my experience that raccoons, deer, hogs, and coyotes see red lasers just fine.

With all that said, running a red led light on a low setting may be your best non-NV option for navigation aid. With the power down, you aren't emitting a bright light and the throw will be greatly reduced. Bear in mind that you may only see it for 5 feet, but they will see it much farther because they see better at night than we do.

You might find this read to be of value to you.
Deer:
https://deerassociation.com/hunters-guide-deer-vision/
https://www.themeateater.com/wired-to-hu...d-movement

Coyote:
https://outriggeroutdoors.com/blogs/nigh...-must-have

Pig:
https://www.pig333.com/articles/pig-visi...dling_981/
https://howitsee.com/what-colors-do-pigs-see/