 The whale eye is relatively small for its size , yet they do retain a good degree of eyesight . As well as this , the eyes of a whale are placed on the sides of its head , so their vision consists of two fields , rather than a binocular view like humans have . When belugas surface , their lens and cornea correct the nearsightedness that results from the refraction of light ; they contain both rod and cone cells , meaning they can see in both dim and bright light , but they have far more rod cells than they do cone cells . Whales do , however , lack short wavelength sensitive visual pigments in their cone cells indicating a more limited capacity for colour vision than most mammals . Most whales have slightly flattened eyeballs , enlarged pupils ( which shrink as they surface to prevent damage ) , slightly flattened corneas and a tapetum lucidum ; these adaptations allow for large amounts of light to pass through the eye and , therefore , a very clear image of the surrounding area . In water , a whale can see around 10 @.@ 7 metres ( 35 ft ) ahead of itself , but , of course , they have a smaller range above water . They also have glands on the eyelids and outer corneal layer that act as protection for the cornea . 
