FLYING FISH??

    ‘Flying Fish’ photo by John Cobb on Unsplash.

Sort of!  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to join the Merchant Marine in the 70’s.
We were sailing in the South China Sea when, much to my surprise, I saw fish flying through the air around the ship.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  Actually, they were gliding in the air on their pectoral fins.  When threatened under water, they can propel themselves out of the water at 35 miles an hour!  

Believe it or not, once they are above water, they can glide up to 650 feet!  They also have specialized tail fins which can propel them along the water once they are airborne.  This cool tail adaptation can double the distance this fish can ‘fly’ along the water. The longest recorded flight by a Flying Fish was 1,312 feet! They can be up to 18 inches in length and are found in the tropical and temperate zones of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Unfortunately, they are low on the food chain and are prey for anything bigger than they are. They have this incredibly clever way of avoiding prey, the problem is, the birds are waiting for them when they propel themselves out of the water!!!  You just can’t seem to win!  You can see why they are such a major contributor to the ecosystem of the oceans!

You can watch these crazy fish in action by clicking on the following link:

‘Flying Fish Picked Off from Above and Below.’  BBC Earth.

The scriptures admonish us to: ‘Remember the wonders God has done!’  Psalm 105:5.

I thought it would be fun and fruitful to look at some of the other astounding ways God has given critters to protect themselves from would be predators. 

Remember the Wombat?  When threatened by a predator, it dives down into its burrow, blocking off the entrance with its rear end!  Their big butt consists of cartilage and are very resistant to scratches and bites.

Then there is the Bombardier Beetle that defends itself by squirting formic acid out its rear end at 212 degrees Fahrenheit into the eyes of whomever thinks it would make a good meal. 

Skunks are equipped with a nasty sprayer in their rear end that releases a powerful smell that we all try to avoid.

No one messes with a Porcupine!  Its body is covered with 30,000 barbed quills.  Contrary to popular belief, a porcupine cannot shoot their quills.  If attacked by another animal, the quills detach, burrowing into the predator’s flesh inflicting painful wounds.

An opossum plays dead when threatened.  So does the Eastern Hog-nosed snake!  When threatened, it rolls over on its back and plays dead!  My son brought one home.  It was amazing to watch this God given protection!

An Octopus sprays out an inky fluid that darkens the water and confuses the predator.  They also have an incredible ability to change their colors to blend into their environment. 

The Pronghorn Antelope, the fastest long-distance runner in the animal kingdom, uses its speed to elude would be predators.  It can maintain a speed of 35 miles per hour over several miles and up to 55 mph over short distances!  

This is just a short list of the variety of ways God has equipped His critters to defend themselves.

Isn’t He a ‘wonder’ as the scripture says.

I also wanted to include a ‘moving message’ from RFK, Jr.  It will make you proud to have him as your 26th United States secretary of health and human services, appointed by President Trump in 2025.  We speak a common language!  Read on!

ROBERT KENNEDY’S MOVING MESSAGE ON GOD AND NATURE!

The following is his moving message spoken during an interview with Tucker Carlson.  “The reason we protect the environment is because there is a spiritual connection.  The reason we are preserving these things, (nature) is because we love our children.  You know, God talks to human beings through many vectors; through each other, through organized religion, through the great prophets, through wise people, the great books of those religions.  But nowhere with the kind of detail and texture and grace and joy as through creation and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine and understand who God is, what our own potential is, and duties are as human beings.  It connects us to those 10,000 generations that were here before there were laptops.

The central revelations of all those religions always occurred in the wilderness.  Mohammed who was a city boy from Mecca, had to go to the wilderness of Mount Hira.  Buddha had to go into the wilderness and wander for years and then sit under the Bodhi Gaya tree to get his first revelation of Nirvana.  Christ had to spend 40 days in the wilderness to discover His divinity for the first time and His mentor was John the Baptist who lived in a cave in the Jordan Valley and ate honey of wild bees and locusts. 

All of Christ’s parables come from nature.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  The mustard seed, the little swallows, the scattering of seeds on fallow ground.  Because that is where we sense the divine.  God talks to us through the fishes, the birds, the leaves.  They are all words from our creator.  And that is why we preserve nature.”

WELL SAID!!!