The purpose of this column is to present situations in nature that show incredible design and planning which allow them to work. We would suggest that these types of things cannot be the product of blind mechanistic chance, but rather show intelligence and purpose. The Bible makes reference to things like this in passages like Romans 1:19-22 in which we are told that we can know there is a God through the things that He has made.

One of the areas where special equipment and special processes are needed is in the deep oceans. As science has explored these areas some animals with incredible equipment have been found, but recently researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland discovered that the common Gray Seals have an incredible way of making their air last longer so they can dive to great depths and stay under for longer periods of time.

Most animals including humans start digesting their food as soon as they eat it. Digestion uses oxygen, and while that is not a problem for animals living on the surface of the earth, it is a huge problem for mammals living in deep ocean environments. Gray seals can put off digestion for hours according to the researchers at St. Andrews. That means that seals can go down and hunt and swallow fish as long as there is room in their stomachs. The seals can hunt for up to twenty minutes before they run out of breath, and digestion will not start until they have returned to land and have stopped hunting--perhaps hours after having swallowed their prey. The seals are most vulnerable to predators when they are on the surface of the ocean, so being able to either be very deep catching fish, or up on an ice berg digesting the fish is a huge plus for the seals.

This is just another example of the incredible tools that God has designed in animals to enable them to survive. A dandy design that equips animals to live even in the most inhospitable places. Without such designs, massive areas of the seas would be void of life.

--Reference: Smithsonian, March 2007, page 14.

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