Page 125 - For Men of Understanding

ARMOURS AND SPIKES

Some animals move extremely slowly and do
not have the chance to run away and hide
from their enemies. There is yet another
defence mechanism given to them: their
armours and spikes.

At an instant of danger, this reptile
takes its tail in its mouth and forms
a circular shape. Meanwhile, the armour
covering its whole body protects it from all
kinds of external dangers.

The hedgehog is the most famous of all the animals
that protect themselves with their spikes. The
animal, which moves very slowly, would surely have
disappeared millions of years ago were it not protected by
such a system. The protection method that enables its
survival is assuredly neither "thought up" nor "produced" by
it, nor brought into existence by coincidence. The animal is
simply created like that and that is all.
The pill bug rolls inside, takes the shape of a ball at a moment
of danger, and is protected, thanks to its strong shell.

The pangolin's hard armour looks like a cone.
When it curls up, the armour on it pricks up.
Almost no animal can open this sharp-edged armour.

The Signs in Living Things 123