The Animal Understanding of Death

The Animal Understanding of Death
This opossum is apparently really dead.

What do animals understand about death? That question has become such an area of interest that it has a name—comparative thanatology. Dr. Susana Monso has written a number of books and articles on the animal understanding of death, with special attention to opossums and chimpanzees. In her books, Monso provides information about the physiological changes in the opossum when it “plays dead.”

In a Time magazine article, Dr. Monso gave accounts of animals dealing with death. She told of a newborn albino chimp that other chimps were afraid of. When the dominant male killed the baby chimp, the behavior of the chimpanzee troop changed dramatically to a display of curiosity. Other cases cited are an orca who carried her dead baby over 1000 miles for 17 days and a gorilla who was weaned but attempted to suckle from its dead mother’s breast.

Dr. Monso argues that the animal understanding of death differs from human understanding. She says our human bias affects our view of comparative thanatology, but she believes animals understand death in their own way. Are the chimp, orca, and gorilla displaying grief, or are we interpreting them in light of what humans would feel and do? Do carnivores have empathy for the herbivores they eat? Those questions reflect what Dr. Monso calls an intellectual anthropocentrism bias.

That bias is reflected in some humans who refuse to eat meat because they feel empathy for the animal that died. To suggest that you won’t eat anything requiring death means you won’t eat anything. If you eat a plant or the seed of the plant, something has to die. Death is part of the design of life, and life would be impossible if nothing died. Either everything would die of starvation, and Earth would become devoid of life, or animal populations would overfill the planet.

The biblical understanding is that the Creator of life gave humans a special place in the creation. In Genesis 9:1-3, God tells Noah that all animal life would have the fear of humans and that humans would be responsible for managing all of life. Verse 3 also equates animal life with plant life. “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you just like the green plant – I have given you all things.”

God gave only humans the ability to comprehend life after death. Animals’ understanding of the death of one of their kind is rooted in survival. We see this in the biblical discussion of this subject and the evidence available to all of us.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: “Animals Understand Death Too” in Time magazine for October 28, 2024

Grounded Running in Birds

Grounded Running in Birds - Killdeer
Killdeer
Killdeer Nest
Killdeer Nest

Have you ever chased after a bird? Trying to catch a gull or a robin is an exercise in futility because birds can run at very high speeds. In our part of the world, we have a bird called the Killdeer, which lays its eggs on the ground in the open. As a teenager, I would chase the adult birds, thinking I could catch one, but I did not realize they were running on the ground to lead me away from their nest. I never thought about why I could never catch one because I would run out of breath before the bird would. Researchers have studied what they call “grounded running” in birds.

When humans are in a hurry, they use what is called “aerial running,” in which we pick up our feet. In grounded running, birds always keep one foot on the ground. Keeping a foot on the ground consumes less energy than human aerial running. Dr. Armita R. Manafzadeh of Yale University says that even though grounded running may look funny, “It’s actually a pretty smart thing to do when you have the anatomy of a bird.” According to Dr. Manafzadeh, “If we try to interpret the diversity of animal locomotion through a human-centric lens, we’re going to miss out on lots of really cool and equally viable ways of moving around the world.”

It is only through modern technology that we have been able to study the ground running of birds. What appears to be a silly-looking strategy is a beautifully designed system that meets the bird’s needs. The more we learn about the design and wisdom displayed in the creation, the more we see the wisdom and creativity of God.

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?”
(Job 12:7-10 NKJV)

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: Scientific American magazine for December 2024, page 12.

A System Benefiting Birds, Ants, and Trees

A System Benefiting Birds Ants and Trees
Yellow-olive Flycatcher in Costa Rica

Birds have an interesting method for keeping ants out of their nests and away from their eggs and chicks. Many ant species will eat everything in their path, and often, ants infect trees where birds build their nests. From a design standpoint, how can you build a system benefiting birds, ants, and trees?

Scientists have discovered that in tropical and subtropical areas, birds use fungal organs known as rhizomorphs to build their nests. Rhizomorphs are cord-like filaments that fungi use to capture nutrients, and they grow web-like in the canopy of tropical forests. These filaments repel ants to keep them out of the birds’ nests. Researchers have found that over 176 bird species use fungal rhizomorphs in their nests. Two bird species in Costa Rica build their nests almost entirely using rhizomorphs of horse hair fungus (Marasmius).

Researchers in Costa Rica found a symbiotic relationship between thorn acacia trees and ants. The ants collect nectar from the acacia, repel any invaders, and even trim back encroaching plants. The thorns of the acacia protect the ants from predation, and the rhizomorphs protect the birds. This complex system benefiting birds, ants, and trees is very difficult to explain by any chance process. The concept of God building a system that protects all three participants is simply an argument for His existence.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: “Fungus-laced bird nests repel ants” in Science News for November 2, 2024, and Animal Behaviour October 2024.

Macro-World Micro-World

Macro-World Micro-World
Brachycephalus pulex frog

We live in a macro-world in which we see and touch large things. Most of us don’t recognize there is a micro-world made up of very small things. Without the small things, the large things could not exist. The most obvious example of the need for small things is the food that animals need to survive.

Food chains start with the very small. Carnivorous insects that don’t eat plants provide the starting point for food chains. As technological tools become available, scientists discover more and more small animals, even some that are vertebrates. One example is the discovery of tiny Brachycephalus pulex frogs, also known as Brazilian flea toads, because they can jump 30 times their body length. They are only 7 millimeters (.3 inches) long, and unlike other frogs, they don’t go through a tadpole stage. Their eggs hatch directly into tiny frogs.

Scientists have found tiny animals in desert environments providing a basis for life in what would appear to be a sterile environment. Tardigrades, known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are another example of very small creatures that are important agents for life in the macro-world.

Many plants and animals that allow life to exist are not perceived through our senses. Everywhere we examine the macro- or micro-world, we find a design created by God. Romans 1:20 tells us, “..the things of God which the eye is unable to see ever since the world was made are clearly perceived through the things that are made.” The things we can’t see include the spiritual things of God and the small things in the material world as well.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: Wikipedia

Fine-Tuning the Universe

Fine-tuning pumpkin bread is easier than fine-tuning the universe
This is what pumpkin bread should look like.

I recently attempted to bake some pumpkin bread. It was a disaster because I failed to use the proper proportion of one ingredient. When baking any pastry, having all the right ingredients in the right proportions is essential. Equally important is having the correct oven temperature for the right amount of time. Every factor must be just right. This is a simple illustration of fine-tuning the recipe. Far more complicated than baking any pastry is fine-tuning the universe.

Scientists have realized that the universe requires fine-tuning to make the existence of complex life possible. The number of factors that must be fine-tuned is vast, but five significant ones are these:

Gravitational Force Constant – This is the force that pulls us toward Earth. More than that, it holds the planet together and makes it round. It also holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth and the planets in orbit around the Sun. It holds together the Milky Way and all other galaxies. This force has to be strong enough to form stars and planets, but if it were too strong, stars would quickly burn up, and no planets would form.

Electromagnetic Force Constant – This force holds atoms together. It must be just right for chemical bonds to form, creating molecules that everything is made of, including our bodies.

Strong Nuclear Force Constant – This force holds together the protons and neutrons in the nuclei of atoms. It must be just right to form stable atoms.

Weak Nuclear Force Constant – This force regulates radioactive decay and must be precisely correct to form stars such as our Sun.

Cosmological Constant – This force controls the universe’s expansion speed, balancing the attractive force of gravity with the repulsive force causing space to expand. It must be extremely precise to prevent the universe from flying apart or collapsing on itself.

A properly “baked” universe requires that all of these constants and many more parameters be just right. The chance of all of them coming together by accident is beyond impossible. Fine-tuning the universe requires intelligent planning far beyond that of any human baker, and it could not have happened by accident. It is evidence of an intelligent creator God.

— Roland Earnst © 2024
Reference: “List of Fine-Tuning Parameters” by Jay W. Richards

Humuhumunukunukuapua’a

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Hawaii’s state fish is the humuhumunukunukuapua’a. The scientific name is Rhinecanthus rectangulus, but people call them humuhumu for short. This is a species of triggerfish, and the design complexity of these fish defies any chance formation.

The name Humuhumunukunukuapua’a means “a triggerfish with a pig’s snout.” These fish eat lobsters, sea urchins, and snails. They can blow water jets from their mouths to find these foods under sand. The triggerfish name comes from having a “trigger” that locks their dorsal fin in the up position to prevent a predator from extracting them when they hide in a small crevice.

A four-bar linkage mechanism links the humuhumu’s skeleton to its jaws. That gives it a powerful mechanical bite needed to capture its hard-shelled prey. Engineers study the humuhumu to see how humans can assemble and use such structures. This bone-cartilage mechanical linkage defies any step-by-step evolutionary assembly process, and there is no evolutionary precursor to triggerfish.
Like all the examples of design in the natural world, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a strongly supports the biblical statement that we can know there is a God through the things He has made (Romans 1:20).

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: Waikiki Aquarium, YouTube Deep Marine Scenes, Wikipedia, and “Evolution of Levers and Linkages in the Feeding Mechanisms of Fishes” in Integrative and Comparative Biology.

Thoughts About Dandelions

Thoughts About Dandelions

You may not have kind thoughts about dandelions, but they are actually useful plants for animals and humans. The name “dandelion” comes from the French “dent de lion,” meaning lion’s tooth, referring to the coarsely-toothed leaves. Until the 1800s, people would pull grass from their lawns to make room for dandelions and other beneficial “weeds” like chickweed, Malva, and chamomile.

Here are some reasons for saying that dandelions are useful:

#1. Birds, insects, and butterflies consume nectar or the seeds of dandelion.
#2. Honey from bees pollinating dandelions is quite delicious.
#3. Dandelion root can be used as a substitute for coffee.
#4. Dandelion is used in folk medicine to treat infections and liver disorders.
#5. Dandelion tea is a diuretic.
#6. Dandelions can be used to make dye.
#7. Every part of a dandelion, including roots, leaves, and flowers, can be used for food.


Dandelions remind us of three celestial bodies—the Sun, Moon, and stars. The yellow flower resembles the Sun, the puff ball resembles the Moon, and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars. A gust of wind often transports away dandelion seeds, which travel like tiny parachutes as far as five miles from their origin!

Whatever your thoughts about dandelions, whether you like them in your lawn or not, they are, quite possibly, the most successful plants, masters of worldwide survival, and part of God’s design of living things.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Our thanks to Joe Kramarz for this data.

Trashing God’s Creation

Trashing God’s Creation

The Bible tells us that God created our planet to be a beautiful place and gave humans the responsibility to take care of it. However, we see today that humans are trashing God’s creation.

Several times in my life, I have had the privilege of being in an area where no human activity had ever been present. From the underwater gardens in the Galapagos Islands to isolated regions of Alaska, the beauty of the natural world has astounded me. In Australia, I was allowed to be in places where the nearest human city was hundreds of miles away, and the beauty was breathtaking. Canoeing in Canada’s Quetico wilderness was another place where I saw incredible beauty. Numerous trips to the bottom of the Grand Canyon allowed me to see an unspoiled natural environment.

Finding unspoiled places today has become increasingly difficult. Human greed, selfishness, and materialism have led to trashing much of our planet. Many people have sensed this loss, including those who may not see it as God’s creation but cannot deny the destruction of the natural world. One organization is the Ocean Conservancy, which is involved in global cleanup. One of their programs is the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), which uses volunteers to pick up trash worldwide.

In 2023, ICC volunteers collected 1,947,483 cigarette butts, 1,358,870 plastic beverage bottles, 853,086 plastic bottle caps, 762,803 food wrappers, 563,390 plastic grocery bags, and a variety of trash, adding up to 14.3 million items. The issue of trashing God’s creation has gotten more attention since scientists discovered that microplastics contaminate all oceans and even show up in the human bloodstream. Medical research shows that these tiny plastic particles combine with chemicals to produce cancer, birth defects, brain damage, infertility, and various other health issues.

We see skeptics blaming God for these illnesses and problems when the root of much of the pain and suffering is humans trashing God’s creation. Christians cannot assume that this problem is unrelated to their faith. We need to be leaders in caring for God’s creation just as we must lead in helping our world understand Christ’s wisdom as He tells us how to live and how to treat each other.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: The Ocean Conservancy in their Splash newsletter for Winter 2024

Saturn Launched a Comet

Saturn Launched a Comet
Saturn

Among the many evidences for design in our solar system are the outer gas-giant planets that protect Earth from comets. We have seen Jupiter draw in a comet, break it into multiple pieces, and then swallow it. If Jupiter had not stopped that comet in the outer reaches of our solar system, it could have been catastrophic to our planet. Astronomers have recently learned that Saturn launched a comet out of the solar system.

In June 2014, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) discovered a comet they call A117uUD. Looking through previous images of the comet, they were able to “wind back” the history of its solar orbit. They found that in 2022, it came close enough to our second-largest planet (the one with the famous rings) that Saturn’s gravity grabbed it and flung it away from us. Now, it’s traveling out of the solar system at 6,710 miles per hour (10,800 km/hr).

A117uUD is the second comet astronomers have seen a gas-giant planet launch into deep space. In 1980, Jupiter sent comet C/1980 E1 (Boswell) on a path out of the solar system. What would happen if a comet invaded our solar system and the outer planets, with their massive gravity, were not there to send it on a detour? How long would our planet survive? What if Jupiter and Saturn were not available to swallow, destroy, or re-route a destructive comet?

When Saturn launched a comet into the wild black yonder, it caused no danger to Earth’s inhabitants. We can be thankful that the solar system is well-designed for us to survive. Does design indicate an accident or a Designer?

— Roland Earnst © 2024

Reference: space.com

Blind Cave Fish Find Food

Blind Cave Fish Find Food
Blind Cave Fish – Mexican Tetra

How is bat guano controlled in caves, and how do blind cave fish find food? Like all natural balances, there is a relationship between these two questions.

With vast numbers of bats in caves, over many years, their droppings could fill the caves if there were no natural ways to reduce the volume. Dr. Josh Gross at the University of Cincinnati has discovered that blind cave fish actually eat bat guano. It provides food for the fish, which would otherwise have nothing to eat.

What the fish get from the guano depends on what kind of bats live in the cave. Fruit bats will have some sugar in their guano, and bats that eat insects will have some protein in theirs. The next question is, how do the fish find the guano that will nourish them? The answer is that the fish have taste buds under their chin and on top of their heads.

The fish avoid destructive bacteria that might be in the guano because some of the taste buds can detect lactones in the bacteria that would taste bitter. These taste buds are called tuft cells, and in addition to harmful bacteria, they can detect dust mites and mold.

Everywhere we look in the natural world, even in the darkest caves, we see God’s design and handiwork, even in how blind cave fish find food. Romans 1:20, “We can know there is a God through the things He has made,” has special meaning when we see examples like this.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: “A Matter of Taste” in Scientific American for November 2024, page 16 and Nature Communications Biology