The Wonders of God’s Creation
Last week we learned about the ways of the land-otter. The sea-otter is quite similar to it, but somewhat larger, growing up to five feet in length and weighing about one hundred pounds. It, too, has a beautiful dark brown fur, which for many years was prized for making ladies’ coats. It is rather fussy about its handsome appearance and spends hours grooming itself, ruing its fur with its paws.
The sea-otter spends most of its time in salt water. It makes its home in thick beds of kelp (seaweed) where it is quite safe from seals and killer whales, two of its enemies. Before going to sleep, it wraps itself in strands of the kelp, so it won’t drift away. However, sometimes it has been seen napping in the open water on its back with its eyes covered with its forepaws. The “pups” are born in the kelp beds and are totally helpless. In fact, they can’t swim until their mother teaches them. She holds them up with her forepaws, much as a man might hold a child while teaching it to swim. The mother also has to help the little one find its milk and she also cleans it continuously.
The Creator has provided this animal with ears and a nose that seal tightly when it dives. He placed its eyes near the top of its head so it can see while almost totally under water. As might be expected, it is an excellent swimmer and can swim long distances at a great depth.
It always seems hungry and eats at all hours. One of its favorite foods is abalone, a shellfish that clings tightly to rocks near the bottom of the ocean. The otter can’t pry these loose, but takes a rock from the bottom and smashes the abalone’s shell to get at the meat. It also brings clams and other shell-food to the surface, at the same time bringing along a good-sized stone. Swimming on its back, it places the stone on its chest. It smashes the clam down on the stone to break its shell and then enjoys its meal. It often eats a fish in a similar way, holding it on its chest until eaten.
Like the land-otter, the sea-otter loves to play and is full of fun, often chasing one another through the water. They have been seen lying on their backs in the water, tossing a stick in the air. They catch it in their paws before it hits the water. Over and over they repeat this, just like a boy tossing a ball into the air and catching it in his mitt.
It is amazing that creatures such as this go on year after year and century after century doing the same things and being provided for in the same way, with never a lesson to help them learn. But this should not surprise us when we stop to think that God made every one of His creatures in just the way that would best suit it for its life’s pattern and purposes. He also said at the time of creation: “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind... and it was so ... and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:24,2524And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:24‑25). So we should not expect any of these beings to change from one form to another because that would be impossible. God has made every created being appear “after his kind.”
ML-02/15/1981