“God created great whales . . . which the waters brought forth abundantly.”
Genesis 1:21
In the cold Antarctic Ocean, krill are found in vast numbers. The name krill includes extremely small shrimp, red crabs, tiny lobsters and fish larvae, all swimming together in huge schools that often cover several miles.
Tiny shrimp make up the greatest part of these groups. Their eleven pairs of legs are extremely important to them - the five back pairs are shaped like paddles for swimming, and the six front pairs are used for capturing tiny food particles. To do this, they throw out each leg in a circular motion and draw the food particles into their mouths.
Where do krill come from? They begin life deep in the ocean as eggs too small to be seen easily. The larvae hatching from these various kinds of eggs don’t grow to full size for four years. During this time they don’t look at all like the adults.
It is the grown krill that are hunted for as they are very nutritious and tasty to whales, seals, porpoises and other marine life. When aware that a hungry enemy is near, sometimes krill wriggle out of their shells. The empty shells hold their shape, deceiving the hungry enemy. Then the now-unprotected krill drops deep into the ocean and remains there until a new shell grows to cover it over.
Whales, mainly baleens, living or migrating through this area, are krill’s greatest enemy, and one of them can swallow as much as five tons of krill a day. When gulping a mouthful of krill-filled seawater, the whale traps and crushes the krill by closing its huge mouth. The seawater squirts out before the whale swallows the remaining krill.
In addition to whales, it is estimated that millions of penguins and seals, as well as numerous kinds of sponges and fish, dispose of many tons of krill each day. Yet krill continue to reproduce in great numbers.
Isn’t it remarkable how the Creator provides these tiny bits of sea life to meet the food needs of so many larger creatures and yet enables the krill to replenish their numbers year after year? It is a reminder that He is looking upon all substance of the sea, earth and sky at all times and is in control of each one.
However, these ocean creatures have only a short life and then cease to exist, whereas every person has his lifetime here on earth and then enters eternity to exist forever. Where will your eternity be spent? If you know the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, it will be in heaven with Him and the vast number of others who have accepted Him as their Saviour. If not, it will be in an awful place the Bible calls “outer darkness.”
Will you choose heaven?
ML-12/28/2003