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/

  • krigo666@lemmy.worldEnglish
    26·
    4 days ago

    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.

    • homes@piefed.worldEnglish
      33·
      4 days ago

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

      • SippyCup@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9·
        4 days ago

        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.