Fishy Sign Language - Creation Moments

Galatians 5:13
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”

Humans aren’t the only ones who use sign language, a recent study has found. Two types of fish are now known to use gestures to help them capture prey. Both the grouper and coral trout hunt cooperatively with other kinds of aquatic sea life. And they pull this off with sign language.

Coral trout Though grouper are very fast in the open water, they are much too big to pursue prey that swim into small areas. But that’s not a problem for the giant moray eel. Their slim bodies make it easy to crawl into small holes. So when the grouper’s prey flees to an area it can’t reach, the grouper points to it by rotating its body so that its head faces downward and then shakes its head back and forth in the direction of the potential meal.

Similarly, coral trout make gestures like the grouper’s headstand signal to show their octopus hunting buddies the location of the prey. For the octopus, fitting into tight spaces is no problem.

We humans are often unable to accomplish a task by ourselves. If we are wise, we will ask others for help. And when others turn to us for help, we should do the same. God didn’t make us all alike. We need one another within the body of Christ. Use the gifts God has given you to be of service to others. And remain in fellowship with fellow believers so you can build up one another in Christ.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for the gifts You have given me so that I may use them to serve others. And when I am in need of help, remove my pride so that I will allow others to minister to me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Author: Steven J. Schwartz
Ref: http://news.discovery.com/animals/fish-use-sign-language-130429.htm.”Fish Use ‘Sign Language’ to Help Hunting Buddies,” Discovery News, 4/9/13. Photo: Coral trout. Courtesy of Richard Ling. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.