If you do much research into hog hunting you will notice that there are lots of brands looking to sell you swine lights with green beams. So can hogs see green lights?
Can Hogs See Green Light?
Quick Answer: Yes, Hogs can see green light. In fact it is one of the colors that they are most reactive to along with dark blue.
The interesting thing is that all of these hunters are using green light successfully so it makes me wonder if maybe there is more in the behavioral response to light instead of actually seeing light. If you are looking for a hunting light check out our buyers guide.
What is Vision?
The tricky thing about vision is that we actually see the light that bounces off of an object. So I guess we see the color that that object isn’t. But if only one color of light is shining then that is all that can bounce off.
Crazy right?
Now we need to pair that with what is inside of an eye that captures light and color.
We all learned in science class that our eyes have rods and cones. So what do they do?
The basics is that rods help you see levels of light, movement and shapes. And, cones are your brains input for colors.
So that means how many cones and types of cones an animal has will determine what colors it can see.
Difference between Human and Hog Eyes
Primates which includes humans are thought to be the only mammals with 3 different types of cones which makes us trichromatic which means three colors. These 3 colors are blue, green, and red.
Pigs on the other hand only have 2 different types of cones so they are Dichromatic which means two colors. Based on research these two colors are blue and green.
Check out the image below on how the same image looks with all of the red taken out.
What do you notice?
Lastly there are some animals that have monochromatic vision so they see in levels of brightness which would be like black and white.
What Science Says About Hogs And Green Light
According to the latest research we know that hogs can see green light wavelengths.
But based on how pigs react to light we also know that pigs do not like bright spots, shadows, and black and white patterns.
At the same time they typically go towards brightly lit areas.
Should You Use Green Light When Hog Hunting?
Wow that is lots of input to get to the main question here which is should we be using green flashlights for hog hunting. You would think that since they actually see green really well you would not want to use it but when you mix it with how pigs react to light it might actually be ideal. Blue light might work too.
First off since pigs react negatively to white and black patterns it makes sense for a scene to not be colored white or black so that puts us at a color light and not with a white light.
Next, we know that pigs will go towards something that is well lit for them. Well they see green pretty well so lighting up something with green means they will walk to it.
Last is that they avoid shadows and bright spots (So green lasers might make them react). So they will not come near you with the bright lights and they will want to stay in the illuminated space and not leave it very quickly.
So they are right where you want them to be to take your shots.
As an added bonus for us humans the green nm wavelength stands out to our eyes exceptionally well so this light color range allows us to see further down range than most other colors.
Other Animal Vision and Light for Hunters Articles
Can Deer See Green Light?
Can Deer See Red Light?
Reasons To Hunt With Red Light
Flashlight For Hunters
Headlamps For Hunters
Conclusion
Can pigs see green? Yes they see if very well and they are actually attracted to well lit places.
But, when we are considering lights we also need to take into account how animals react to light.
In this case hogs at night do not want to hide in the shadows like some other animals, they want to be out in the light and flaunt their stuff. So putting up a light that they see actually attracts them like bait almost.
If you are looking for a light for hog hunting then do not go for a normal light. Instead look for a strong light that is green, a portable light so you can run if you have to, and a durable light that you know will work. You might want to also consider what you need to be able to get around but you might want a different flashlight for that.
We hope that this article was helpful for you and that it will help you make a decision in what kind of flashlight you are looking to buy.
This website is mostly funded by people like yourself looking for information about flashlights and then purchasing a light through one of our links to stores. These are affiliate links which just means if you buy it after using our link we get a small percentage of the sale from the store, it is like you buying us a cup of coffee for this information with no extra cost for you. So go get your green hunting light and please use one of our links.
Well, take care and if you have any other things you want to research about flashlight we probably have it some where on the site along with lots of other outdoor and gear related stuff.