Is short-sightedness found in other animals?

Yes, and in different ways, say our readers, who also consider if short-sightedness affected ancient humans

3 September 2025

2C0KN5C Funny husky dog in glasses lying on the grass in a summer park — Roman Lacheev/Alamy

Last Word is �鶹��ý’s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.com

Is short-sightedness found in other animals? Did it also affect ancient humans?

Simon McLeish
Lechlade, Gloucestershire, UK

There are animals that don’t normally have good sight, such as moles, that rely much more on their sense of smell.

Similarly, there are bats that don’t see well in the daytime, but compensate for that with their echolocation in the dark. And there are hawks that put our sight to shame.

There are, though, animals that have sight deficiencies similar to those in humans, in which a percentage of the species has poorer sight than the rest, such as horses. A Royal Society paper from 1894 found that more than 40 per cent of horses examined had myopia or astigmatism, and it was conjectured that myopia was a factor that can cause shying or startling. Similarly, a 1992 study found sight problems in dogs, with around 15 per cent of German shepherds being myopic.

In domestic pets, where animals often live to greater ages than their wild counterparts, the animals frequently experience similar problems as elderly humans, including deteriorating sight and sometimes blindness.

Peter Leach
Nercwys, Flintshire, UK

As I have been short-sighted since my early teens, I have always assumed that, had I been born as an ancient human, I would have been culled from the gene pool very quickly.

“Watch out for the sabre-toothed tiger, Peter!”

“What sabre-toothed tiger?”

“ A Royal Society paper from 1894 found that over 40 per cent of horses examined had myopia or astigmatism “

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