While the squid is an enemy of fish and other marine creatures that are smaller, it also has many enemies of its own that consider squid a very nice answer to their hunger. Sea life larger than themselves—killer whales, porpoises, octopuses and other kinds of large sea creatures—gobble up the small- and medium-sized squid when they get the chance.
But a squid has several means of defense. In addition to being able to swim away faster than nearly anything else in water, the Creator has given it other means of self-protection. For one thing, its strong arms can often wind around an attacker and kill it, even if it is larger than itself. It also has two other very interesting defensive weapons that it uses. One is the ability to change color almost as fast as you blink your eyes. This helps it to hide from an enemy by blending in with its surroundings. Another is to shoot out a cloud of thick black ink, sometimes even making it in a shape that looks just like itself. Then it backs quickly away while the badly fooled enemy attacks the inky mass and, to its surprise, finds nothing there. Aren’t these amazing survival features the Creator has given squid?
The shallow ocean shores of some California islands are one place where great quantities of squid are caught. Every winter millions of them, six to eight inches long, come there to lay tremendous quantities of eggs, and fishermen (as well as sharks and other big fish) are always waiting for them—somehow knowing just when this will take place. They scoop up tons of them, but scarcely make a dent in their numbers. The same thing takes place in the Mediterranean Sea where they are caught in a similar manner. Millions of tons go to the world’s fish markets from these and other places every year.
Ocean workers, mentioned in the opening Bible verse, as well as cruising tourists, tell of interesting encounters with squid. One common thrill is to see smaller ones jump from the water, by means of their jet propulsion, as high as twenty feet and fifty feet in distance. Sometimes they accidentally land on board bigger boats and at other times jump over smaller ones.
Truly the works of the Lord are marvelous, and though we may not understand why He created some of these strange creatures, we know they serve His plan in ways known to Him. He also has a plan for every boy and girl, and every man and woman. Have you thanked Him for His love for you and asked Him to show you what His plan is for you and how you can honor Him in your life?
ML-02/14/2010