Turns out, tigers have ocellus that are eye-like markings on their ears. Pretty neat, huh? While most often observed on butterflies, this feature is exhibited by a variety of animals including reptiles, fish, and birds (think peacock!). The eye-like marking often works as a defense mechanism where a prey animal mimics the eyes of a larger predator animal. However, self-defense is not the only reason some animals have this sort of marking, sometimes it’s just a matter of spandrels or accidental pattern formation.