Animals Archives

October 28, 2025October 27, 2025

Desertas Petrels Flying Into Hurricanes

Most sea birds stay ashore when they sense a storm is approaching. Frigate birds ascend to very high altitudes to avoid the strong winds of hurricanes. Albatrosses find calm in the eye of a hurricane. But not all birds see hurricanes as threats. For Desertas petrels, flying into hurricanes is a feast.

These small, agile seabirds with long, slender wings dive straight into the spinning air bands, reaching areas 124 miles (200 km) from the hurricane’s eye. In one study, a Desertas petrel was seen flying into winds over 60 mph and ocean waves taller than 26 feet. As a hurricane moves, these birds travel with it. Researchers have tracked Desertas petrels flying from Africa to the New England coast, over 7,000 miles.

This unusual behavior creates a feast for the Desertas petrels, key predators in the ocean. Hurricanes stir up life forms from depths as great as 3,280 feet. They also bring zooplankton and larger swimming prey up from the deep, allowing the Desertas petrels to feed and help maintain balance among different ocean life forms.

It’s easy for humans to misunderstand the careful design of ocean food chains. Without balance, a species could become overly numerous, consume all available food, and face extinction. Desertas petrels help maintain the balance of squid, octopus, cuttlefish, hatchetfish, and lanternfish. Francesco Ventura, a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, has studied these birds in detail and has shown how they not only survive hurricanes but thrive in them.

We can learn many lessons from studying God’s creatures. We see how crucial it is for humans to care for ocean life without disrupting the balance, which ultimately affects our own food supply. Understanding how all life forms survive provides powerful evidence of God’s wisdom and design of our planet. We are not here by chance.

Reference: sciencedirect.com

October 21, 2025October 21, 2025

Hammer Orchid and Thynnid Wasp

Ten species of hammer orchids (genus Drakaea) are found only in Western Australia, and each is pollinated by a specific wasp species in the Thynnid family. Each orchid has a fake model of the pollinating wasp carefully placed to attract the real wasps. It sounds like a clever practical joke, but the hammer orchid has a “dummy” labellum on a stem attached to a hinge that only bends toward the orchid’s flower.

Of course, the dummy on the stem resembles a female thynnid wasp in size, shape, and color. At the right time for fertilization, the hammer orchid releases a pheromone that mimics the female wasp’s scent. Thynnid wasps are unusual because the female is flightless and waits on a stem or grass blade for a male wasp to carry her away to a food source for mating. When a male thynnid wasp falls for the trick and tries to carry away the dummy, a hinge throws him backward into the orchid, dusting him with pollen.

The humiliated male wasp then leaves and might be fooled by another hammer orchid, where he deposits the pollen he collected from the first flower. The male wasp might repeat this process several times (assuming he’s a slow learner), which is the only way the orchid gets pollinated. If the trick didn’t work, the hammer orchid would become extinct.

Consider all the things that must go right for this trick to succeed:

1. The orchid must produce a labellum that resembles the female wasp in size, color, and shape.

2. The male wasp must be programmed to grab a flightless female and carry her away as part of the mating ritual.

3. The orchid must produce the right complex chemical pheromone to mimic the female wasp at just the right time to attract the male.

4. The hinge must move in the right direction and not be too weak or too stiff.

5. The stem from the hinge to the dummy wasp must be exactly the right length to coat the male wasp with pollen.

6. The male wasp must not be clever enough to learn from his mistakes.

Could the unique design of the hammer orchid have happened by chance, or is design a better explanation? Could it also be that the Designer has a sense of humor?

Reference: wikipedia.org

October 14, 2025October 14, 2025

Bumpy Snailfish Discovered

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute announced the discovery of a new deep-sea snailfish species called the bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi). This fish lives over 10,000 feet below the ocean’s surface and exhibits traits never seen before in the snailfish family.

Other deep-ocean snailfish are sleek and dark-colored, which helps them catch prey and blend into the dark waters. The bumpy snailfish is pink, with a large head and a body covered in bumps. These bumps are gelatinous, watery tissue that may help keep the fish buoyant under the high pressures of the deep sea.

Evolutionary explanations for how the bumpy snailfish came to be are unclear because its traits do not seem to increase its chances of survival but may instead make it more vulnerable to predators. Like all living things, it occupies a specific niche in the ecosystem. Dr. Mackenzie Gerringer, who analyzed the species in detail, said the discovery of this and two other species “is a reminder of how much we have yet to learn about life on Earth.”

As scientists develop new tools for deep-sea exploration, they continue to find life forms in every environment on our planet. Everywhere we look, we see a design in life that hints at an intelligent Creator who made Earth a living, dynamic place for humans. The truth of Romans 1:20, which states that we can know there is a God through the things He has made, appears more obvious today than ever in human history.

Reference: foxweather.com and mbari.org

October 9, 2025October 9, 2025

Fish Communication Methods

A fascinating question that marine scientists have explored is fish communication. Finding a mate, locating food sources, and defending territory are challenges all animals face. Terrestrial animals solve this problem by pushing air through their lungs, with different land animals having various designs to do this. Birds and lions produce sounds for communication differently, but both systems involve air in some form. So, the question is, how do fish communicate?

Researchers from Cornell University placed equipment in the ocean off Hawaii and Curacao to study this question and found that each fish species has its own method for communicating with others. Triggerfish slap their pectoral fins on specialized scales. Glasseye snappers rattle their swim bladders. Blackbar soldierfish use sonic muscles to vibrate their ribs. Aaron Rice, who was the project manager for Cornell, states that the “sounds lack the elegance of birdsong, but they are significantly more diverse.”

The more scientists learn about life on our planet, the more varieties of specialized designs they observe everywhere on Earth. Explaining the origin of things like fish communication as a chance occurrence in the distant past pushes credibility too far. Seeing these as outcomes of design is an example of intelligent purpose, allowing a vast diversity of life forms to exist.

References: Cornell Chronicle, sciencedirect.com, and fisheyecollaborative.org

October 6, 2025October 6, 2025

The Eyes of Golden Apple Snails

In many regions, apple snails are considered an invasive species and pest. However, scientists are studying one freshwater species, the golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata), for its unique ability to regenerate a lost eye. Researchers hope to learn from the eyes of golden apple snails something that could have potential applications in preserving human vision.

Apple snails have eyes that resemble cameras, similar to human eyes. A golden apple snail’s eye can heal itself if damaged. If the eye is completely removed, a new eye will grow back in less than a month. Of course, human eyes cannot do that. Researchers studying the eyes of golden apple snails hope to find new ways to treat human eye injuries or diseases like macular degeneration.

By using the gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 to disable certain genes, scientists are searching for the genes responsible for the snail’s remarkable eye recovery. Disabling the snails’ PAX6 gene prevented them from developing eyes. That same gene is crucial for human eyes. Due to the similarity, further research may lead to new breakthroughs in treating eye diseases.

Humans cannot regrow damaged parts of the eye, and doctors have yet to perform an eye transplant that communicates with the brain. God has given humans curiosity and intelligence to explore life’s mysteries. In the eyes of golden apple snails, He has provided us with a model to study and potentially learn how to restore lost or damaged vision.

References: sciencenews.org and nature.com

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025

Shark-Skin Biomimicry

Human engineers often draw inspiration from the natural world. When they adapt these designs for human use, it’s called biomimicry. Shark-skin biomimicry utilizes the design principles that enable sharks to move smoothly and quickly through water, applying them for industrial and practical purposes.

In addition to its body shape, a shark’s ability to swim swiftly and quietly through the water is largely due to the design of their skin. Shark skin has a textured pattern, known as riblets, that helps reduce water drag. Researchers at U.C. Berkeley and MIT explored ways to adapt this shark skin design to reduce the water’s drag on towed sonar arrays (TSAs) used by ships and submarines. They discovered that rectangular riblets could cut drag by 5% or more and reduce noise by 14%. Noise reduction is very important for sonar, which depends on detecting sound echoes. Less noise also benefits marine wildlife.

Another application of shark-skin design is in water distribution systems. Biomimetic riblets inside water pipes can lessen turbulence as water flows through. Reducing turbulence and drag decreases the energy needed to pump water to its destination. This means lower costs for supplying water to homes. Researchers found that, under ideal conditions, drag can be cut by up to 10%.

According to another study, shark-skin biomimicry can also improve the efficiency of microchannel heat sinks. Microelectronic components in computers and other devices can be damaged by heat. The researchers reported that “the shark-skin based bionic structure had higher heat transfer capacity and lower friction loss.”

Looking at nature’s designs reveals wisdom at work. Shark-skin biomimicry offers benefits in aviation, marine transportation, water systems, and the cooling of microelectronics. What other new applications of biomimicry are still to be discovered? God’s wisdom shows in what He has made. Humans have no excuse for failing to recognize His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20).

References: sciencedirect.com HERE and HERE, and popsci.com

Some other examples of biomimicry: Salvinia, Kingfishers, Harriers, Cacti, Beetles, Sponges, Cicada Wings

October 1, 2025September 30, 2025

Atlantic Salmon Migration: An Impressive Life Story

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) can grow up to 30 inches (76 cm) and weigh about 12 pounds (5.5 kg) after spending two years at sea. In four or more years, they can grow much larger, with a record caught in 1960 weighing 109 pounds (49.44 kg). Atlantic salmon migration is an impressive life story.

For four years or more, juvenile Atlantic salmon live in freshwater rivers or streams where they hatched. When the time is right, they undergo a process called smoltification, a complex series of physiological changes that prepare them for life in saltwater. During smoltification, their skin turns silvery and reflective, and their body shape changes. Their gills produce an enzyme that removes sodium from their cells, and various mechanisms are activated to regulate body fluids in the seawater environment.

The first stage of Atlantic salmon migration begins with their journey to the Atlantic Ocean. In the ocean, their diet shifts from primarily insects to larger foods, such as shrimp, eels, squid, and small fish. While in the ocean, they grow faster than in freshwater. After two, four, or more years at sea, something triggers the fish to return to the river where they hatched.

When the salmon reach the river’s mouth, they stop eating and swim upstream. Their primary goal at this point is to return to where their life began. There, they spawn, reproducing to pass on their genes to the next generation. Unlike Pacific salmon, which die after spawning, Atlantic salmon can sometimes recondition themselves to return to the sea and repeat this cycle of migration and spawning. The fact that Atlantic salmon stay in the ocean for varying lengths of time means that a drought in their native river or stream for a year may not halt the reproduction of that year’s salmon.

This impressive life story prompts several questions. How does the Atlantic salmon return to the stream where it hatched? Apparently, they can detect the precise chemical signature of their stream by odor. Another question is why this fish undergoes such a demanding process. Many other creatures in the ecosystems benefit from the salmon’s migration. As predators, Atlantic salmon help control populations of insects in the rivers and smaller fish and other creatures in the ocean. As prey, they serve as food for larger fish, seals, and sharks. They are also valued as a delicious and nutritious food source for humans.

A more challenging question is, how could the impressive life story of the Atlantic salmon migration have happened by chance? We believe it is not by chance. This is more than survival of the fittest; it is a complex system where one animal benefits many others, including humans. Once again, we observe the Creator’s design at work.

September 25, 2025September 23, 2025

Hermit Crabs Stealing Homes

Hermit crabs might be accused of stealing their homes. Maybe “stealing” is a bit strong. Perhaps we should say they are “scavenging” or “recycling.” There are over 800 species of of these crabs, and most of them find an abandoned shell of a gastropod (snail) and move in.

The fact that hermit crabs (superfamily Paguroidea) live alone in shells is why we call them “hermits.” For a gastropod such as a snail, the shell is part of its body—an exoskeleton that offers protection. When the owner dies, the hermit takes over the abandoned shell. You might call it a mobile home because hermit crabs, like the original owners, carry the shells with them as they move.

Outside the shell, a hermit crab is vulnerable to predators because of its soft abdomen. Inside the shell, the crab is protected and can retract its entire body if needed. It has a curved abdomen to fit the shell, and the tip is designed to grip the shell tightly. Because they depend on shells for protection, sometimes two of them will fight over one they both like.

Marine hermit crabs spend most of their time underwater, breathing through gills. As long as their gills stay wet, they can stay on land briefly. There are about 15 species of land hermit crabs, but they still need access to water. People sometimes keep them as pets.

As a hermit crab grows, it needs larger shells, so they compete to find new homes. Some have observed them lining up in a queue from largest to smallest. When the largest moves to a bigger shell, each of the others moves up to the next size. Having shells available requires a balance between the number and size of the crabs and the gastropods that die. Sometimes, they are forced to find shelter in hollow pieces of wood or rock. Sadly, they may even take refuge in plastic trash from which they cannot escape.

Some larger hermit crabs support sea anemones on their shells. The venomous anemones protect the crabs from predators, and they benefit by eating food fragments that escape the crab’s grasp. Once again, we see how the web of life is designed to work together for survival. We believe this is no accident but the work of a Master Designer.

September 24, 2025September 23, 2025

The Song Sparrow’s Success

Many sparrows visit my feeders regularly. Looking at my copy of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, I see that 19 pages are dedicated to various sparrow species. While many are limited to specific areas of North America, some are widespread across the continent. One such species is the song sparrow (Melospiza melodia). Some scientists have been researching the reason for the song sparrow’s success.

Song sparrows are divided into 25 subspecies spread from the East Coast to the West Coast, from Alaska’s remote islands to the Mexican volcanic plateau. These birds may seem quite ordinary, but they are extraordinarily successful at surviving and thriving in boreal forests, coastal wetlands, and even deserts. The secret of the song sparrow’s success is that each subspecies has unique traits that help it survive in its specific habitat.

In the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, the maxima subspecies has larger bodies to better conserve body heat. The fallax subspecies, found in the Sonoran and Mohave deserts, has lighter plumage to blend into the desert’s brown landscape. The caurina subspecies of the Pacific Northwest has darker feathers to resist moisture-related microbes. In Atlantic Coast salt marshes, the atlantica subspecies has larger bills to assist in evaporative cooling.

Scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the University of British Columbia sequenced the DNA of nearly every subspecies to understand the song sparrow’s success. They found that genes and the environment work together to enable variations among subspecies, allowing them to thrive in diverse ecosystems.

This new research confirms what we have previously stated. God has given each species the ability to adapt and change over time to fit changing environments. That adaptability is key to the song sparrow’s success. Sparrows can evolve and adapt, yet they remain sparrows. This ability to change highlights God’s divine power in His creations (Romans 1:20). Jesus affirmed God’s love for even the sparrows, and much more for every human being. (See Matthew 10:29-31.)

Reference: National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America and allaboutbirds.org

September 22, 2025September 21, 2025

Glowing Birds-of-Paradise

Some of the most colorful and fascinating birds are the more than 40 species in the Paradisaeidae family, known as birds-of-paradise. They are more than just colorful; they are extravagant in their ornamentation and in their mating rituals. We have previously looked at the King of Saxony bird-of-paradise and Wilson’s bird-of-paradise. Studying these birds always reveals something new. In February 2025, a team of researchers published a new study about glowing birds-of-paradise.

Birds-of-paradise inhabit the rainforests of New Guinea and Australia, where they showcase their dazzling colors and remarkable features. Rene Martin, a University of Nebraska ichthyologist (a scientist who studies fish), specializes in deep-sea glow-in-the-dark fish. Some of her colleagues mentioned birds that seem to gleam, which led her to expose some specimens of birds-of-paradise at the American Museum of Natural History to UV light.

What Martin discovered was glowing birds-of-paradise. Thirty-seven species showed biofluorescence under ultraviolet light. Seeing them with human eyes was impressive, but for the specialized eyes of birds, it must be even more dramatic. Unsurprisingly, the males glow the most. For example, the entire belly of the male king bird-of-paradise seems to glow under UV light. Females exhibit some scattered and subdued glowing areas, which might help them camouflage in the sun-dappled rainforest. Meanwhile, the biofluorescence of the males could enhance their brilliant colors in the dark rainforest.

The discovery of these glowing birds-of-paradise reminds us that it’s easy to overlook what is right in front of us. Edwin Scholes, founder and director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds-of-Paradise Project, said, “Just when people think, ‘Oh, we must know everything there is to know about birds-of-paradise,’ we find something completely mind-blowing. There’s still a lot to be discovered.”

What new insights will science uncover about God’s creation in the coming days and years? The more we learn, the more we realize the truth of Romans 1:20, which tells us we can know there is a God by the things He has made.

Reference: allaboutbirds.org