Australia and New Guinea provide good homes for one of the world's strangest animals—the foot-long spiny anteater (not to be confused with the great anteater). The spiny anteater is sometimes mistaken for a porcupine. It also has some features similar to a platypus and a kangaroo. It has a pouch on its stomach for hatching a baby from a tiny, leather-like egg. It also provides milk for its baby and carries it around for about three months, until it is strong enough to get out into the open. This anteater's home is usually in a burrow underground or dug into the side of a cliff.
The spiny anteater’s face has a long, skin-covered, bony snout with a tiny mouth and rather large, open nostrils atop the end. Although its body is covered with spines, there are no spines on its face.
Its front claws are good for rapid digging for ants or termites in soil. Its back claws are good for tearing logs apart and pulling heavy stones away to make its nest. Each back claw also has one extra-long nail it uses to groom its brown fur coat, which lies beneath its armor of coarse, sharp spines.
While this animal may seem very strange to us, the Creator designed it especially for the life-style He gave it. This is particularly noticeable not only in its claws, but also in its long, narrow, tough, toothless snout and its exceptionally long, sticky tongue. This tongue dips into an ant or termite nest and brings great numbers of them to its mouth. It also picks up some dirt in the process, but the Creator has provided special glands that digest the dirt as well as the insects.
Because of their sharp, barbless spines, these little fellows are seldom bothered by wild cats or dogs. But when threatened, the anteater presses close to the ground, and using both front and hind feet it rapidly claws the soil away beneath itself. It gradually settles its body down into the hole, inch by inch, until only its sharp spines are showing. By that time the enemy gives up and leaves. When threatened and unable to dig its way to safety, it curls up into a round ball, with its tender parts well protected by its needle-like spines.
The beginning Bible verse speaks of the Creator's pleasure in all the things He made, which includes this unusual creature. But His greatest pleasure is in any person who trusts in Him, not only as his or her Creator, but, more importantly, as his or her own Lord and Saviour. Are you giving Him that pleasure?
ML-05/18/2008