Friday, August 19, 2011

Sorry, Sperm Whales could not have Evolved in Stages

Sperm whales feed mainly on large cephalopods such as squid, which they find at depths of 400–1,200 meters during dives that can last more than two hours. At these depths, there is essentially no sunlight. What wisdom exists in the design of these magnificent creatures! It is utter folly to suggest that such a perfect biological system could have developed by chance and in stages. In deep, dark water, such a method for finding food either works right the first time or never at all.

Scientists have learned that sperm whales use echolocation, in much the same manner as do bats. During dives, sperm whales make loud clicks at regular intervals, listening to the reflection of these sound waves off any nearby objects, such as schools of squid. These clicks have high directionality, high
source levels, and frequencies around 15 kHz, suitable for long-range sonar.

Like bats, the whales are able to process the timing of reflected sound waves to develop a picture in their minds of the location of nearby prey. When prey are detected, the whales then make clicks with increasing
frequency to give more rapid updates on the precise location of prey just before capture.

The Bible teaches that living creatures were created according to kinds. Yes, the sperm whale is an example of a marine animal specially equipped by God to find food in its environment!

(from Jonathan C. O'Quinn, Sperm Whale Echolocation, Creation Matters, a publication of Creation Research Society, Volume 16, Number 3, May/June 2011, to appear at http://www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/pdf/2011/CM16%2003%20low%20res.pdf)

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