Blacktail Deer Plateau glow in the dark

When Osprey woke up from her hundredth (or so) nap, something was different. Although she was lying on her back, her head propped against one of her three pillow pals—all business as usual—her face felt strange. With a grunt, the potbellied pup wiggled her forelegs, scrubbing at her blunt muzzle with her tiny front paws. In the process, her eyelids unstuck and parted ever so slightly, revealing slivers of bright blue.

The little girl slowly blinked for the first time in her life. It was impulsive but did very little to clear her newly-minted vision, which was very grainy and unfocused. To make matters worse, it was very early in the morning and the den's interior was bathed in deep, purple shadows. Most of the den's inhabitants wore dark coats too. Poor, tiny Osprey could barely make out anything in the gloom.

Rolling onto her belly with a grunt, she slowly swung her head from side to side, exploring this new sense. She did see vague shapes and shadows but nothing definitive... until she spotted something paler than the surrounding grayness. Osprey Jr. began to crawl toward it, her short muzzle bumping into it with stark familiarity. It was one of the blobs, the smallest and softest of them.

Osprey gave a squeak of baffled awe, then turned away from the motionless white blob. She scooted slowly around the sleepy den, examining any- and everything with her fresh eyes. Dawn light began to creep into the lair, gradually making everything more visible and defined, yet the change was so subtle—and her eyes were so watery—that Osprey Jr. didn't notice it consciously. All the same, she bumbled forth toward the den's mouth, her baby blues squinted, naturally drawn to the soft, glowing light.