this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 88 points 6 days ago

Meanwhile my colorblind ass:

[–] [email protected] 40 points 6 days ago

Tigers are generally crepuscular which means they’re most active around dawn or dusk, when the sun is very low in the sky. Their orange fur does not stand out so well when everything looks orange under the golden light of dawn.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Wouldn't a mutation in the deer sight to see orange be vastly evolutionary beneficial?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Only in areas with tigers, and then it would only express itself enough if there were enough evolutionary pressure exclusively on that survival tactic.

As long as other causes of death happen to deer in tiger territories and as long as speed remains a good survival strategy, minor mutations that would only provide an advantage in extreme specific scenarios like a tiger stalking them wouldn't have a chance to be spread.

There's also a whole host of additional brain power that needs to be dedicated to more complex colour blending and processing, and that may add enough delay to offset any potential gain in recognizing a threat.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago

It could, but it might also lead to something harmful for the deer at the same time. I'm not sure if the gene affecting the deer's eyesight is known, but it could be a pleiotropic gene (a gene that influences multiple traits at once).

If that's the case, and the other effect is negative and somehow spreads through the population, it could become a future issue for the deer. Think about humansβ€”we lost the ability to produce our own vitamin C. Almost every other mammal can produce their own (except for hamsters). When this happened, it didn’t harm us right away, so it spread through the population. But over time, it led to issues that weren’t a problem before, like scurvy.

Same could happen to the deer.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago

Presumably yes, but its still down to a roll of the dice whether a mutation like that happens in the first place, and whether the individuals who have that mutation live long enough to breed, and whether that mutation actually gets passed down, etc

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

It's been far more important, evolution wise, to be agile and quick enough to avoid predators. Like a security camera can only tell you how someone was murdered.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

And then soon we'd have green tigers.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (3 children)

There are no green mammals because of some biology reason I can't remember.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

Yeah I think it was a balance patch, because mammals that could photosynthesize were too OP.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (5 children)

Basically all mammalian pigmentation is just melanin, so mammal colorings are mostly just different amounts of brown combined with different amounts of red, and some animals don't even have the red.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Desperately need me a community just for tiger facts like this and pictures of tigers. Greatest of the Big Cats

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Thank you for subscribing to Big Cat Facts

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Feel free to open !bigcats or !tiger I'll be your first follower.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I wish lol. I don't have enough time to manage a community though. if someone else made one though i'd follow it instantly

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

I vaguely remember someone mentioning a community to give your community ideas to who may want to implement it... I forgot the name.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Do the tigers know they are orange?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Do humans know tigers are green?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago

Asking the real questions

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Ist is possible to make the own pattern visible? Like with special Cameras and Light?

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

No, they too are dichromats

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

Almost like our eyes evolved to give danger its own colour.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 days ago

Oooh I just thought nature was fucking stupid

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

This must be utterly terrifying for them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

"Why? I've always been orange." - tigers

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Would not green be the obvious route then?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 6 days ago

AFAIK green is more expensive to produce. Plants use it since it's good at absorbing sunlight, but what's the advantage to a tiger, if their prey can't tell the difference?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

idk they could make green but then in, let's say, UV it's like a completely different color, so it'd just be the same situation but in another level

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)
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