HORSES IN STRIPES: ZEBRAS
Zebras
at first sight remind us of horses. As in the case of horses,
zebras, too, have hair which we call a "mane". Their body
structures are also very similar to horses and they run as
fast as them.
Yet, their appearance is strikingly different.
As you might also suppose, this difference lies in the straight
stripes that cover their bodies from head to toe. Do not underestimate
a stripe, since these stripes are different in every single
zebra. Just like the fingerprint, which is unique to every
person, the stripes of zebras are all different. Stripes provide
identification data for a zebra just like an ID card does
for humans. The vertical stripes of zebras are also an important
element of defence. When they come together, tigers and lions
perceive the herd as a whole. In this case, it becomes difficult
for the predator to choose the individual zebra, which becomes
a protection for the zebras.
There are two essential elements necessary
for zebras to survive: water and grass.
At
times, a zebra herd wanders for 50 kilometres (31 miles) to
find water and grass. But at nights they return to their own
places. That is because, as we mentioned earlier about other
animals, each herd leads its life in a particular territory.
Do you know that zebras very much like
to take dust-baths? Indeed, zebras are very fond of dust-baths.
That is because, dust-baths remove the parasites living on
their bodies. Apart from this, zebras have guests that accompany
them and help them in their cleaning. Oxpeckers feed on the
ticks found on the hides of zebras. This way, one by one they
pick the parasites that make zebras sick and cause them to
itch. As you see, our Lord, Who plans and controls the lives
of all the creatures and makes them helpers for each other,
has also assigned some animals as helpers of others.
About half an hour after birth, a new-born
zebra stands up and begins to walk, though in a faltering
trembling manner. No sooner do they walk than they begin to
suck their mothers' milk. Milk is very beneficial for a new-born
creature. This milk, which is pink in colour by a special
creation of Allah, protects them from illnesses from birth
onwards. Besides that, it secures the proper functioning of
their intestines.
Zebras,
as is the case with all other creatures under Allah's protection,
are equipped with defence mechanisms that Allah has taught
them. The first of these defence mechanisms is their very
sensitive sensory organs, such as seeing, hearing and smell,
which Allah has given them at birth. The sensitivity of these
sensory organs enables zebras to notice their predators quickly
and run away. No sooner do they begin to run than they reach
an incredible speed. The second defence mechanism is the following:
when the herd fall asleep, one or two zebras stay awake and
watch out for possible threats.
Zebras employ the defence tactics that
are similar to those of human beings. However, it is interesting
that these animals live in harmony in herds and make a division
of labour. It is obvious that it is Allah Who creates zebras,
collects them together and provides their sustenance and Who
commands them to make a division of labour. If this was not
the case, no one would be able to explain why some zebras
make sacrifices such as staying awake all night long to protect
the others.
On the other hand, for the new-born zebra
who has recently opened his eyes to this world, the defence
tactics Allah has taught him are much simpler. All he has
to do is stay close to his mother. That is because, it is
impossible for a new-born zebra to see stealthy enemies with
his newly opened eyes or run away from them with his weak,
trembling limbs. You see, Allah has inspired the new-born
zebra to remain next to his mother always until he grows up.
Otherwise, how could he know that there are predators around
waiting for him and that the most secure place for him is
with his mother?
Most
zebras live on open grasslands where there is not much possibility
to hide. For this reason, in order to stay alive, they need
to move very fast. All the body structure of a zebra is devised
to meet this need. For instance, their limbs are very long;
they can run very long distances without becoming exhausted
or losing speed. Although light, the bones of zebras are very
strong.
Zebras feel the need to drink water very
often. In regions where water is scarce, they use their sharp
sense of smell and dig a hole to reach fresh water. In moments
of danger, mature zebras push young zebras into the middle
of the herd to protect them. As the zebras run together, young
animals always remain inside the herd and run close to their
mothers for better protection.
GIRAFFES: LIKE SPECKLED TOWERS
Often
reaching a height of five to six metres (196 to 236 inches),
you could find a resemblance between giraffes and speckled
towers. The longest part of a giraffe is its neck. Its long
neck enables it to reach the remotest branches on trees and
feed by grazing on the sprouts and leaves. These thorny plants,
which the giraffes don't chew, first go directly into their
four-compartment stomach. Then they regurgitate them back
to the mouth, where the giraffe chews them. Finally, they
swallow them again and send them to another compartment in
their stomach.
However, there is something very interesting
about this process. As we have recently mentioned, giraffes
regurgitate thorny plants from their stomachs back to their
mouths to be chewed. But, as you may imagine, this is rather
a long journey. The food needs to travel a distance of three
or four metres (118 to 157 inches) in the long neck of the
giraffe. As you can also imagine, it is unlikely that the
food could proceed to its destination on its own. You are
curious about how giraffes could manage this, right? Let us
explain it: there is a lift-like system in a giraffe's neck
that makes this possible. No doubt, it is impossible for giraffes
to think, "In order to digest our food, we need to send it
back to our mouths; so, we must build a lift system to accomplish
this".
On
the other hand, such a system could not have come about by
accident. You would certainly laugh at a person who tells
you, "I went to that vacant area where many years ago I left
some materials to construct a building. To my surprise, I
found a huge building instead of the materials. No doubt,
rain, snow and sun must have worked together to build this
building over the years." You would also think that this man
must have gone insane and would therefore feel pity for him.
It would likewise be unreasonable to think that the lift system
in a giraffe's neck had come into being in the same way. Such
a system could not have come into existence by chance.
Furthermore, a giraffe is not a lifeless
building made up of rocks, soil and mud bricks. It is a living
being that runs, feels hungry and delivers babies. Is it possible
that such a living being could have come into existence accidentally?
Is it possible that coincidence could grant him a long neck
equipped with workable systems? Of course not.
It is obvious that anything a giraffe
needs has been given it at birth by Allah. Allah has specially
created the mouth and stomach structures of giraffes so that
they can eat thorny, spiky plants without difficulty.
As in the case of the structure of its
neck, the way a giraffe sleeps reminds us of Allah's existence.
While sleeping, giraffes extend their necks towards their
body. Except for a few minutes, they sleep on their feet in
this position. Giraffes do not sleep all at the same time;
one of them stays awake to protect the others. That a giraffe
sacrifices its sleep for the sake of other giraffes and their
reaching agreement about this shows us Allah's control over
giraffes as in the case of all other animals.
Now,
lets set aside how these speckled animals eat their food and
talk about the way they drink water. Probably most people
have never thought about how a giraffe bends down and drinks
water without difficulty. However, our Lord, Who is the Creator
of everything, wants us to ponder over such delicate systems.
First, let's make it clear that while
drinking water, a serious problem awaits these long-necked
creatures.
To understand this essential problem,
we need to remember one thing: Do you recall what happens
when you try to stand upside down? Exactly! Your face immediately
turns red. That is because, our blood rushes to our heads
with the effect of the force of gravity and exerts a pressure
on the veins, which is called "blood pressure".
This is exactly what should happen when
giraffes try to drink water. However, as you may also imagine
this could be a major problem. Since giraffes are very tall
animals - around five or six metres (196 to 236 inches)- the
blood pressure on the head bending down from such a height
becomes very great. If a human being were exposed to such
high blood pressure, his brain would immediately burst.
This being the case, how do giraffes drink
water without having a cerebral haemorrhage? That is because,
Allah, the Creator of space, the sky, the earth and all creatures,
has placed a very special mechanism inside a giraffe's head.
There are little valves inside the veins of a giraffe's head.
Once the height of a giraffe's head changes, these valves
start to operate and prevent high blood pressure in the head.
Well, have you ever thought about why
giraffes are speckled? This aesthetic appearance, in harmony
with the grasslands, makes it hard for their enemies to distinguish
the giraffes. Despite their giant bodies, they can thus hide
from the king of the savannah, that is the lion, their foremost
enemy.
In
moments of danger, giraffes run at speeds of 55 to 60 kilometres
(34 to 37 miles) per hour. When they begin to run, they move
their heads back and forth like a pump, and curl their tails.
Unlike other animals, giraffes do not take crossed steps.
That is, they move their left front and hind limbs first,
and then the right front and hind limbs. Owing to this, lions
are hardly able to catch giraffes.
This is, no doubt, not the case for young
giraffes. With their premature and weak limbs, they cannot
run as fast as their mothers. For this reason, they become
easy prey for lions. Yet, as we mentioned earlier, these babies
always remain with their mothers. With their long limbs, mothers
can give fatal kicks and thus protect them. We must stop here
for a moment and think. What we call a 'giraffe' is not a
human being. It is an animal. Animals do not have the faculty
of thought. So, the protection giraffes and other animals
provide for their young becomes possible by Allah's inspiration
to them. Allah is the All-Compassionate. Regarding the mercy
and compassion of Allah, a verse in the Qur'an reads as follows:
For your Lord is All-Compassionate,
Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nahl: 47)
GIANT ELEPHANTS
Elephants,
the largest animals on land, have two kinds of species; African
and Asian elephants. African elephants are larger than the
others. They may be as high as three and a half metres (137
inches) and their weight reach around six tons (12000pounds).
Their fan-shaped ears are two metres (78 inches) long and
one and a half metres (59 inches) wide. As you can imagine,
with such a giant body, you can't keep an elephant at home
as a pet.
What makes an elephant especially different
is his trunk. This long trunk, similar to a garden hose, includes
fifty thousand muscles. What you have read is right: "50,000"
muscles! Its nostrils are at the tip of this trunk. Elephants
use their trunks to put food and water into their mouths,
to lift things and, of course, to smell. This trunk is capable
of holding four litres of water. They either squirt this water
into their mounts and drink it or spray it on their bodies.
Surprisingly, an elephant can even pick
up a tiny pea seed with its trunk -which can lift such huge
things-break it in its mouth and eat it. It is really amazing
that such a huge animal can accomplish such delicate operations.
This "multifunctional" trunk can be used as a long finger,
a trumpet or sometimes as a loudspeaker.
Besides
that, elephants use their trunks to spray water on themselves
to have a shower or throw dust on themselves for a dust-bath.
Yet, new-born elephants fail to use their trunks. They sometimes
even step on their trunks and fall down. We may find this
amusing but surely these little babies do not like it. A mother
elephant accompanies her young elephant for twelve years.
During the first six months, she teaches the baby how to use
its trunk and she never becomes bored doing this.
On both sides of their mouths, elephants
have two long sharp tusks. These tusks help them to protect
themselves. Also, an elephant uses one of these tusks to dig
holes in the ground and find water.
The teeth of these animals-which chew
fibrous plants-wear out easily. For this reason, our Lord
has given them a very important characteristic: Every worn-out
tooth is replaced by another in the back row.
One full-grown elephant can eat 330 kilograms
(726 pounds) of plants everyday. This amount is equal to six
small bales of straw. Everyday, elephants spend most of their
time feeding themselves.
Now, let us give you another interesting
piece of information about elephants. Have you ever thought
how these huge thick-skinned animals cool themselves? As you
might imagine, elephants cannot sweat because of their thick
skins. Instead, they cool themselves with the help of the
water and mud they see around. Of course, elephants have other
methods to freshen themselves. For example, they use their
ears as fans and cool their bodies with them. The thin blood
veins on their ears also cool them and cause overall refreshment.
Another
feature of elephants has surprised hunters and zoologists
for a long time. What astonished them was the rumbling of
elephants' stomachs. While rumbling, elephants' stomachs make
very loud noises. Yet, what is astonishing is not the loudness
of these noises but the way elephants control them. In fact
these noises have nothing to do with digestion. The elephants
make these noises to detect the location of their friends.
More surprisingly, in the face of a danger, they all of a
sudden become silent. Once they sense the threat is over,
they start making noise again. Thanks to this method, elephants
can communicate with one another even from four kilometres
away.
The migration stories of elephants have
always astonished zoologists. These animals with their giant
ears and huge bodies migrate in the dry seasons and always
follow the same paths. What is even more interesting is that
they clean up garbage such as chips of wood they find on their
way.
Since elephants are animals that spread
over vast areas of land, it is essential that they establish
strong "communications" between them. Elephants do not owe
this communication to their sharp sense of smell alone. Beside
this, Allah has created an organ on their forehead, which
makes a hoarse noise. Thanks to this organ, elephants talk
to each other with a secret, coded language other animals
fail to understand. These hoarse noises elephants make can
reach very long distances. For this reason, this special noise
that elephants make is ideal for long distance conversation.
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