Page 102 - Magnificence Everywhere

LIFE IN THE DESERT
Extreme heat in the daytime, freezing cold at night, droughts lasting for weeks
or even months on end, scarcity of food… All this is part of the environment of
deserts. It is very difficult to survive under such harsh conditions. However, in spite
of all these hardships, there are many creatures that survive and even thrive in the
deserts. When we look at these creatures, we see that all their movements and body
structures have been created with the characteristics that are appropriate for living
there. Allah protects these creatures from heat with unique features He created.
When we take a close look at some characteristic examples, we clearly see that the
attributes of these creatures couldn't have come into existence by chance, but in-
stead were created by a Creator Who has a superior power.
Sand vipers (Cerastes Vipera) live under the sand. The viper dives into the sand
with a sideways wiggle. It moves its tail from left to right very quickly and then this
movement covers the whole body, consisting of three twists, until has the snake
buried itself completely, save perhaps one or both of its eyes. This way, the viper
lies in wait and so hunts for its prey. But such a strategy runs the risk of the snake's
eyes suffering harm, since they are kept outside in a place where sandstorms may
suddenly whip up. However, because of the design of the viper's eyes, this risk is
completely eliminated. The eye of the viper is protected against the irritating effects
of the sand with an outer "spectacle" made up of a transparent scale. 38
The cream-colored fennec fox, the smallest of the foxes, another desert denizen,
has very large ears. These foxes live in the sandy deserts of Africa and Arabia. Its
wide ears not only help to determine the location of its prey but also serve to pre-
vent excessive heating and enable the animal to stay cool. 39
The shovel-snouted lizard, which lives in the desert, moves as if dancing on the
sand in order to cool its tail and legs. Then, taking support from its tail, it trans-
versely lifts one front and one back foot. After a couple of seconds, the feet switch
positions. The lizard almost swims on sand hills by means of its aerodynamically
shaped nose and body, and its large feet enable it to run on the sand very rapidly.
Magnificence Everywhere frog fills the pouches in its body with water. Then it buries itself under the sand and
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The desert frog, which lives in Australia, is like a water tank. When it rains, the

begins to wait for the coming rains. When they become thirsty, other desert animals
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find these animals and drink water from them, taking them out of the sand.

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