this is moreso an observation I made while googling around and I don't really have a reason but here's what an article had to say:

Interestingly, large felines like tigers and lions do not have slit-shaped pupils but round-shaped. The reason for this is not exactly defined, but it is thought to be due to their greater height off the ground, their behavior as active foragers rather than ambush predators, or differences in their circadian rhythms compared to cats.
https://www.catster.com/lifestyle/why-do-cats-have-slit-pupils/

all 15 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[+] 56 points 6 months ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)
  • [–] 20 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    No, it make sense, not everyone realizes that it is actually an artefact and not part of the eye.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 37 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    And a good thing they drew it in, then labeled it as irrelevant, too! Can you imagine how confusing the diagram would be otherwise!?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 27 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    Pallas's cats (manul) seems to be an anomaly then, they are about the size of the domestic cat and also doesn't have slit pupils.

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 34 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    In fact, they are the only ones that don’t. They are so old, they existed before the slit eye evolved in small cats!

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Ok. First of all, that's a cool ass looking cat. I'd never heard of them before and that has brought some joy to my already pretty joyful morning.

    Second of all, you'd think that were there some pressure to do so, they would have evolved similar features if it was an advantage due to their size yeah? It's gotta be an environmental thing or some combination of the two. The slit eyes tend to blur the sides of your vision but bring things directly in your line of sight in to more clarity.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 14 points 6 months ago

    The slits are an adaptation for hunting in the grass. Large cats stand above the grass and so have eyes more like ours.

  • source
  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago

    I love looking at big cats for this reason. There's something so cute about them having people-ish (or dog-ish, as you please) eyes.

  • source
  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago

    You knew this. Just imagine the tiger with slit pupils and your brain will “wtf”. Same with panthers, lions, snow leopards, mountain lions…

  • source
  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    Also, small cats tend to have pointy ears, but big cats tend to have rounder ears.

  • source