Animals Archives

February 11, 2025February 9, 2025

Symbiotic Relationships Show Design

A stable ecosystem needs all forms of life to benefit other life forms. When two living things mutually benefit each other, we call it symbiosis. A simple example I see from my window is squirrels gathering acorns that make up a large percentage of their diet. The squirrels bury acorns in various places around the neighborhood and either forget where they buried them or don’t need all the acorns they buried. The result is that oak trees are planted all over the neighborhood. If there were no acorns, the squirrels would starve. If squirrels didn’t plant the acorns over a wide area, the oak trees would be crowded and unable to grow successfully. Squirrels and oak trees are one example of symbiotic relationships.

In the insect world, there are many symbiotic relationships, and some insects have multiple such relationships. The red wood ant is an example. The ants have a symbiotic relationship with aphids, which excrete energy-rich honeydew, which supplies food for the ants. In return, the ants protect the aphids from their enemies.

Another symbiotic relationship is with Eurasian jays. The birds land on an ant mound and allow the ants to crawl on them, spraying their feathers with formic acid. The acid is low enough concentration that it doesn’t harm the birds but is strong enough to kill parasites, including mites, that hide in their feathers. In this way, the jays find protection from mites.

A third symbiotic relationship of red wood ants protects spruce forests by controlling the wood-boring beetles that destroy them. The ants bite the beetles and spray formic acid into their wounds. Killing the beetles protects the spruce trees and provides a home for the aphids that live in them. That takes us back to the ant-aphid symbiosis.

The multiple symbiotic relationships of red wood ants remind us that removing one species may affect many symbiotic relationships. Symbiotic relationships show design. Proverbs 6:6-8 tells us, “Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. Without leader, administrator, or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest.”

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: The February 2025 issue of National Geographic magazine (pages 110-132) or nationalgeographic.com

February 10, 2025February 9, 2025

The Design of Mountain Goats

Every niche in the natural world has a designed relationship with plants and animals that live there. Goats thrive in a variety of environments that are unsuitable for other animals. The design of mountain goats allows them to run up vertical mountain slopes and even climb trees in areas where no ground forage is available. Their ability to run vertically up steep slopes protects them from predators like bears or mountain lions. The only predator goats have to worry about are those that can fly. However, eagles and hawks can carry away small young goats.

The secret that allows mountain goats to do these seemingly impossible things is their hoof design. The outer edge of a goat’s hoof consists of very hard material. The hoof has adjustable toes that can compress to a sharp point for digging or to gain traction on a narrow ridge. Mountain goats can also expand their toes for a wider surface. The hoof edges have pointed toenails to catch on small crevices in rocks. The center of the hoof has a soft, rubbery material that gives traction for walking.

People who raise goats have found them difficult to hold in a pen. They can scale any material the walls of an enclosure might be made of and even move about on a steel roof with ease. No other animal has all of the features that allow goats to thrive in places where other animals can’t survive.

The design of mountain goats is challenging to explain based on chance. They are uniquely designed to be the leading players in the ecology of mountainous areas. Their design speaks loudly of the statement of Romans 1:20 that we can know there is a God through the things He has made.

February 6, 2025February 3, 2025

Size Extremes of Animals

We must be amazed when considering the size of dinosaurs and the number and function of insects. There have been very large or very small life forms throughout the history of planet Earth. The key to the size extremes of animals depends on ecological needs.

Fossils show enormous dinosaurs as large as a house and as tall as 50 feet. At the time of the dinosaurs, these animals could eat massive amounts of vegetation to provide the fossil fuels that humans would eventually need. They were larger than any land animal living today for good reason. Humans would be unable to share land areas with animals of that size, and predation would be an issue with carnivores the size of T. rex.

In today’s world, giant animals live in the ocean. The blue whale is the largest animal to ever live on this planet. An elephant weighs less than the tongue of a blue whale, and a blue whale’s heart is roughly the size of a car. They are not dangerous carnivores but eat massive amounts of small ocean creatures like krill. Without such a large consumer, the krill would overpopulate the world’s oceans and throw the ocean’s entire food chain out of balance.

Ants are closer to the small end of the size spectrum. For every human on this planet, there are roughly one million ants. Ants exist in many species, and each has particular functions. Some control the number of other insects, while others clean up human waste. Still others are integral to the plant kingdom as pollinators or as food for the plant.

Of course, there are microscopic life forms that make ants look huge by comparison. These size extremes of animals are not an accident, and they serve to sustain life today as they have in the past. Humans have the responsibility to protect the creatures God has created. Otherwise, Earth will become a lifeless ball of rock traveling through space.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Our thanks to Joe Kramarz for sending us these facts.

February 5, 2025February 3, 2025

Dinosaur Tracks Show Earth Design

An area in the United Kingdom known as a “dinosaur highway” has more than 200 dinosaur tracks. The conditions in that area in the dinosaur age allowed the preservation of tracks of all kinds of dinosaurs in clay with amazing detail. Some of the tracks are from herbivorous sauropods. They were the most enormous dinosaurs that ever lived, leaving tracks more than thirty feet long and 1 ½ feet deep. The recent discovery of megalosaurus tracks, a predator that stood 30 feet tall, expanded our knowledge of what dinosaurs were like in the distant past.

In the 57 years this program has existed, we have seen many claims about dinosaur tracks. Glen Rose, Texas, has a state park where dinosaur tracks are the main attraction. Nearby, on Jake McFall’s farm, are what are claimed to be dinosaur tracks and human tracks in the same rock strata. The dinosaur tracks are huge, and the human tracks are around 16 inches long. McFall claims that the human tracks were made by giants, misreading the “nephilim” of Genesis 6. An interesting fact is that the tracks have the same depth. When I asked Jake why the tracks were the same depth when the dinosaur was the size of his house and the human was said to be nine feet tall, he had no answer.

Frequently, claims of tracks are in rocks that would not allow footprints. Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, there are sandal-shaped footprints in the rocks overlooking the city. The problem is that these rocks are intrusive igneous rocks, meaning they were formed deep in the Earth. They would have been much too hard for footprints to form.

More to the point is the information we can get by studying footprints and realizing the purpose for dinosaurs’ existence. Animals as big as the ones that left tracks in the “dinosaur highway” would have consumed massive amounts of plant material. We see that in coprolites (dinosaur poop) found in the area, which is 100% plant material. That plant material would eventually lead to some of the fossil fuels humans have depended on during the past century.

Today, there is a need to move to renewable fuels, but what got us to the high standard of living we can enjoy today is the materials produced by the dinosaurs and the ecological system they dominated. As we uncover the history of our planet recorded in the rocks, we see the power and wisdom of God. Our existence is not the product of accidents but of wisdom and design built into every record of the past, including dinosaur tracks.

Reference: apnews.com

February 3, 2025February 2, 2025

Bat Migrations and Design

The disappearance of bats from various areas of the world when winter approaches has puzzled scientists for years. Dr. Edward Hume of the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior led a study of bat migrations to determine where the bats go and how they get there. Monitoring bat migration is difficult because bats are fast and travel at night. They have a very low mass, roughly an ounce, so tags used for birds are too heavy for bats.

New tags developed by Hume and his associates weigh roughly a gram (1/454th of a pound), so they can follow bat migrations. Research has shown that bats use the warm fronts that precede storms to ride the winds to travel as much as 1000 miles. There are many variables in this system, meaning that the timing and direction of the winds must be very precise to carry the bats where they need to go.

There is a very practical reason for understanding bat migrations. Wind turbines can kill large numbers of bats, so knowing the timing of the migrations can reduce this problem by shutting down the wind turbines. Bats are essential to control insect populations and produce guano used in fertilizers.

Romans 1:20 says we can know there is a God through the things He has made. Every creature science has studied shows unique characteristics. The “Does God Exist?” program has five volumes of books titled “Dandy Designs,” showing many of these, and more volumes will soon be available. The evidence for God’s wisdom and design increases with every discovery science makes.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: “Bats catch a lift from storm winds on long-distance migrations,” NPR for January 4, 2025, by Jonathan Lambert.

January 22, 2025January 20, 2025

Bumblebees Can Fly High

Two researchers have discovered that bumblebees can fly high at elevations of 29,527 feet. That is higher than Mount Everest! Michael Dillon and Robert Dudley worked with bumblebees native to Sichuan, China, that live at elevations over 10,000 feet. The question is how these bumblebees do that with the thin air and reduced oxygen levels at such altitudes.

The researchers used a pressure chamber to simulate high-altitude conditions. Using high-speed cameras, the researchers saw that the bumblebees didn’t change their wings’ flapping but rather used deeper arcs to scoop more air with each beat. This technique also enables more efficient escapes from predators and the ability to carry heavy nectar loads.

Bumblebees can fly high, but how they can sustain their metabolism with so little oxygen remains unanswered. We have much to learn from bumblebees, but their design challenges all observers. The writer of Proverbs said, “Go to the ant; consider her ways and be wise.” (Proverbs 6:6). All of God’s creatures have something to teach us, including ants and bumblebees.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: nih.gov

January 21, 2025January 19, 2025

Prehistoric Frozen Animals

Many years ago, I was doing a lectureship in Alaska when a young man said he had a fossil he wanted to give me. He said it was on the back porch of his home, but he neglected to tell me it was in the family freezer. His story was that he and some friends were on a canoe trip and found a tusk sticking out of the permafrost. Upon digging it out, they found it was a mammoth. Unfortunately, they cut off the head and put it in the family freezer. He wanted me to take it and get it out of the freezer, but that was impossible for me to do, so I think it ended up at the University of Alaska. I can imagine the mother’s reaction if she found that in her freezer. With climate change, finding prehistoric frozen animals in the permafrost is becoming more common.

USA Today published an article about a baby mammoth found in the Siberian permafrost. The picture shows a specimen very much like the one I described above. In November, scientists discovered the remains of a saber-toothed cat cub. Earlier in 2024, a wolf carcass was found.

Researchers have a problem protecting these prehistoric frozen animals because the meat is still edible. Left alone, birds and modern carnivores will eat it. Some natives who came to my lectureship programs talked about eating frozen carcasses. Various dating methods on these specimens show them as old as 50,000 years, yet the meat is still edible.

Researchers we talked to in Alaska did not have a good explanation as to how the specimens were frozen so quickly. Evolution assumes uniformitarianism – the belief that no process has operated in the past that is not going on today. The prehistoric frozen animals pose quite a challenge to that assumption. Research is ongoing, giving us more information about past climate and astronomical events that are NOT happening today.

January 15, 2025January 12, 2025

Animal Medicine Design

Animals have a fascinating ability to use natural materials to combat or treat injuries or illnesses. People often think animal behavior in treating an injury, infection, or disease is an accident. A familiar example is a dog eating grass because of an upset stomach. The grass treats diarrhea or vomiting and can lower the pH level to soothe pain and symptoms of illness. You may see ads from dog food companies saying they have no vegetable matter in their product, but a dog needs some fiber. To meet these needs, foxes, and wolves will eat blueberries, wild carrots, or wild spinach. These are examples of animal medicine.

Researchers watched an injured Sumatran orangutan extract juice from a plant known for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties in humans. He applied it to a wound under his eye, and the wound did not become infected. In five days, the wound closed, and in a month, it completely healed. Chimpanzees fold and swallow rough leaves to purge parasites. Great apes, elephants, bears, and porcupines are among the animals with an innate ability to find and use certain plants for medicine. Emory University biologist Jaap De Roode said, “You have to have inherited the gene that gives you the general ability to detect the right taste or smell in a plant for your needs.”

It sounds fantastic, but we also see animal medicine in the insect world. European honey bees use tree resin to prevent mites and other infections. Monarch butterflies with an infection will lay 68% of their eggs on milkweed with high cardenolide compounds, which have anti-parasitic powers. When their caterpillars hatch and start eating the milkweed leaves, they ingest the compounds that ward off parasites.

The study of animal medicine shows that insects and animals are programmed to deal with the health problems they encounter. When God addressed Job with questions in chapters 38 to 40, Job realized how much he didn’t know. As we read those chapters, we recognize how much we don’t know and are still learning from the lives of God’s creatures. Proverbs 6:6 advises us to “go to the ant… consider her ways and be wise.”

January 14, 2025January 12, 2025

Oysters Are Ecological Heroes

The anti-science attitude of many in our culture is causing us to reject something God has given us to combat pollution, global warming, and food shortages. That thing is the amazing common oyster. Most of us know that oysters are a culinary treat. Their salty flavor and slippery texture make them a major player in seafood restaurants, but oysters are ecological heroes as well.

Oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Oysters pull the carbon out of the seawater and use it to make their shells. Sea Grant researchers determined that if Americans replaced 10% of their beef consumption with oysters, the greenhouse gas emissions would be equivalent to keeping 11 million cars off the road.

In addition to the environmental benefits, oysters provide healthy diets as well. They are packed with protein, zinc, B-12, omega-3 fatty acids, and a number of trace elements. They are easy to grow and do not require feed, fresh water, or fertilizer. Oysters eat by pumping water through their bodies, filtering out algae and trace elements while improving water quality and preventing algal blooms. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day.

People in Scotland are making oyster beds because pollution and disease wiped out the local reefs. Once oyster beds are established, they help reefs replenish and provide habitat for anemones, barnacles, and mussels that feed commercially valuable fish. It is estimated that 85% of the world’s oyster beds have disappeared in the last 100 years.

Once again, humans have destroyed the gift God has given us. People must realize that oysters are ecological heroes and take steps to restore this great resource.

January 13, 2025January 12, 2025

Wet Dog Shake Design

The design of the world around us shows intelligence. The creation is not just a massive series of accidents but a carefully engineered system that works very well. If you have a dog, you are familiar with the wet dog shake. When a dog gets wet, it does an elaborate series of shakes that spin off 70% of the water in its coat. That water can be an issue for us if the dog is close by, but it’s an excellent example of intelligence and engineering.

The skin of mammals has 20 different types of sensory receptors to detect temperature, itching, and touch. Touch alone has 12 different kinds of receptors that react to pain, vibration, steady pressure, or soft caress. One of the most sensitive receptors wraps around the base of hair follicles. The slightest movement of the hair triggers a shaking response from the animal. The dog’s brain feeds the shaking response sequentially from one end of the animal to the other.

Bears have the same response, and the benefit to the animal in a cold climate is obvious. But it’s not just dogs and bears. Thirty different hairy mammal species use the wet dog shake. This response is so complex that scientists are still studying it. The next time your dog does the wet dog shake, watch what happens and how efficient it is. Every kind of life on our planet shows purpose, intelligence, and design, and this is one more example.

It is easy to see why God used a variety of animal life to challenge Job to explain how they got the equipment and behavioral instructions to do what they do. (See Job 39.) We are still trying to answer these ancient questions. Even with special equipment and the aid of computers, we are unable to give a chance explanation that excludes an intelligent agent, meaning God.