Page 45 - Devotion Among Animals Revealing the Work of God

ome animals remain with other family members for a very
long time, or even for life. Penguins and swans, for in-
stance, are birds that mate for life. Female elephants stay
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together with their mothers and even their grandmothers.
In mammals, usually the males establish families consisting of fe-
males and their young. But leading a family brings with it many re-
sponsibilities. The male must hunt for food more often, as compared to
a single male. He can easily protect himself, but must take care for and
protect the other family members as well. Guarding the defenseless
young often requires selfless behavior.
This is an important matter that should be reflected on: Animals
make great efforts to establish their families, to care and provide for
them. To do so, they risk their own lives and forsake an easy life for
themselves. Why should animals choose these harder options?
This tendency completely disproves Darwin's "the fittest survive
and the weaker perish" thesis. As the many examples over the following
pages will demonstrate to the contrary, the weak are often protected by
the strong, who thereby endanger their own lives.

Family Members Recognizing One Another
One prerequisite for social life is that family members can immedi-
ately recognize each other. Even in wide open spaces where animals live
side by side in large colonies, they can recognize their own offspring,
mates, parents, and siblings.
Each species has a different method of recognizing its own.
Ground-nesting birds recognize their young's voices as well as their
looks. One example of this are Herring gulls, which raise their young in
huge colonies. Even when their chicks are out of sight, parents recognize
and respond to their calls without ever confusing their calls with other
young gulls'. If a stray young bird trespasses their nesting spot, they rec-
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ognize and chase away the intruder.

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