Although hope springs eternal among us "Canon Faithful", I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Animal Eye Tracking on the EOS R. I owned a EOS R since the first week they were available, and had hoped that Canon would add automatic focus stacking (a relatively simple bit of code that simply adds a small offset to the focus setting for each of a specified number of frames), since it was included in the RP, R5 and R6. That code is dramatically less sophisticated than the AI-based animal eye tracking, but it was never added to the R programming.
Like all manufacturers who must continue to provide an ongoing, continuous profit to their owners or shareholders, Canon will typically reserve such "major" functional improvements or new features for the latest model. It's a standard business model and it does generally work. Case in point: I did buy a R5 and having a specific feature I "needed" certainly was one factor in that purchase decision. Of course the sharp, low noise sensor and the amazingly responsive focus capability were certainly the main reasons for the upgrade. I still love the R, but it's never used for macro work. I'd strongly expect that future firmware releases for the EOS R, if any, will be limited to minor "bug" fixes, and/or lens correction tables for new RF lenses. However, if Animal Eye Tracking ever appears in a future EOS R firmware update, I would be eternally grateful to the Canon Gods.
