There are millions of penguins of many varieties. Most live in the cold Antarctic regions. In this and the following issue we will look at two varieties of these birds—the Kings and Emperors.
Penguins walk with a clumsy waddle. They stand together in dense crowds, often shrieking noisily at one another. They cannot fly, but they are excellent swimmers. Their strong wings act as flippers and, along with their webbed feet, provide power for diving and swimming. They can dive more than 800 feet deep and stay below as long as 15 minutes. The Creator, who made the salty oceans their homeland, made it possible for them to drink salt water and eat snow since freshwater is hardly ever available.
King penguins avoid ice and snow when possible and prefer small islands in the sub-Antarctic with bare or rocky shores. Great numbers crowd together so tightly that from a distance they look like a pretty carpeted field.
They are brightly colored. Their heads are deep brown or black, fringed with red at their necks with a strip of orange and yellow. Backs and wings are dark blue, contrasted with white bodies. Orange spots on each side of their head look like brightly colored earmuffs.
A pair does not make a nest as most birds do. Instead, when the single egg is laid (on bare ice), the male takes over its care. He works it into a warm spot between his two feet and covers it with a soft pouch the Creator has provided for this purpose. He stands there for nearly two months, without food or water, turning the egg over from time to time.
Amazingly, the female, who has been feeding in the ocean all this time, returns the very day that the baby hatches out. (How did she know the right time?) She then takes over feeding the chick with pre-digested food. Meanwhile the male takes to the water, stuffing himself with seafood and returns in two weeks to help out. From then on the parents follow the two-week, switch-over schedule until the little one can take care of itself.
Here is another example of God’s care over all His creation, far beyond our ability to understand. The Bible tells us that “known unto God are all His works” (Acts 15:1818Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Acts 15:18)), but nothing compares with the care He shows to every human being. The Lord Jesus gave His life on the cross to pay for the sins of all who know Him as Savior. How can we know Him as Savior? When a prison keeper asked, “What must I do to be saved?” the answer was, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-3130And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:30‑31)). Do you believe on Him and have the eternal life He promises?
(to be continued)
ML-01/06/2019