Whales: Armed and Dangerous

Psalm 148:7
“Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps…”

The narwhal is a small whale, reaching perhaps 10 feet in length, which has an eight-foot spiral tusk coming out of its head. While a whale with a tusk nearly as long as its body might be a dramatic sight, it must be difficult for the narwhal to hunt down its food. The strap-toothed whale would seem to have an even more difficult time catching its prey. You see, this whale has two long teeth growing out of its lower jaw which curve over its upper jaw, preventing it from opening its mouth very wide.

Now scientists believe that they may have discovered how these apparently ill-equipped creatures make their living. They suspect that toothed whales and dolphins can create explosively loud, focused sound beams under water which literally stun the fish they eat.

Bottle-nosed dolphins have been seen to emit sounds louder than 228 decibels, nearly the same as a blasting cap under water. It seems they quite literally catch fish with dynamite! Sperm whales can outdo a blasting cap, generating 265 decibels.

The wonders to be discovered in the living world beautifully combine and harmonize even the most subtle principles of chemistry, physics and biology in most creative and imaginative ways. What science is learning leaves us with no other conclusion than the Bible’s own statement that we have a wonderful, powerful and glorious Creator.

Prayer:
Dear Father; one of the greatest mysteries is how men can say that there is no Creator. I ask that You would move more Christian young people to enter the scientific professions and never waver in their witness to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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