Hello my dears,

I learned the most interesting thing today. I was taking my usual morning stroll through the petting zoo, and doing my usual close, general inspection when I noticed the most curious thing in the goat pen. You see, I thought the goats had donned their Halloween costumes early,  costumes featuring those special frightful contact lenses that the kids wear nowadays to look extra spooky, but they weren't wearing any costume at all! Or contact lenses for that matter, you see, unlike most creatures, goats have rectangular pupils

We all imagine pupils to be round – as they are the type we see most often (on humans) – but goats (and most other animals with hooves) have horizontal slits which are nearly rectangular when dilated. This gives goats vision covering 320 – 340 degrees; this means they can see virtually all around them without having to move (humans have vision covering 160 – 210 degrees). Consequently, animals with rectangular eyes can see better at night due to having larger pupils that can be closed more tightly during the day to restrict light. Interestingly, octopuses also have rectangular pupils.

Now my only question is, what will the goats be for Halloween?

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.  William Shakespeare