The 20-inch-long, four-legged duck-billed platypus, found by fresh water in eastern Australia and Tasmania, looks like a mix of several animals and the duck. Although it has a bill and webbed feet like a duck, a tail like a beaver, waterproof fur and a body like an otter, cheek pouches like a chipmunk and lays eggs like a bird, it is a true mammal. No wonder people who think it evolved can’t figure out what it evolved from.
But since the Bible tells us that the Lord created all things, we know that He made it exactly right for its environment. Its broad, flexible bill has sensitive electric and movement sensors that help it find food while it swims underwater with its eyes closed. It can close its nostrils while underwater, too, and cover its ears with folds of skin. Waterproof fur keeps it warm in and out of the water. Cheek pouches let it store food to take home while continuing to hunt, and webbed feet make it an excellent swimmer. Besides all these features, the male’s hind legs are equipped with sharp spurs that inject an excruciating and even deadly blend of chemicals into any enemy it gets close enough to attack. It is used on enemies and also against competitors for a female. Once the opposing male platypus is injected with this poison, it is temporarily paralyzed, and the victor gets the female.
The platypus stays in its burrow during the day and hunts mostly at night, but it can be seen in early evening or morning hours.
Before the female lays her eggs, she may increase the length of her burrow to about 30 feet long. She drags leaves and grass into the burrow in her tail and makes an underground nest where she lays one to four eggs, after sealing herself into one of the burrow’s chambers. She curls her body around the eggs for ten days to keep them warm, until the tiny, hairless babies hatch. Then, again acting like a mammal, she nurses the babies. She keeps them hidden in the nest until they are several months old and nearly full-grown. Then the cute, clumsy little things are on their own.
We may wonder why the Lord made such a strange animal. One thing we can learn from the platypus is that as humans, we cannot always understand what God does, because He is so much wiser than we are. But in everything that happens in our lives, we can trust that the God who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us is working all things for our good if we love Him, whether we understand it or not. Knowing His goodness and His wonderful plans for us, we can thank and praise and trust Him even for the things we don’t understand.
Did You Know?
The platypus bill has sensitive electric and movement sensors that help it find food.
Messages of God’s Love 8/11/2024