Page 161 - For Men of Understanding

While the male megapode
digs a hole for the eggs, the
female only supervises without
interfering at all.

When the time to hatch
comes, the eggs are
taken out of the sand.

A SENSITIVE THERMOMETER: THE MALE MEGAPODE

For the development of offspring in the "incubation machine", the temper-
o
ature should be kept constant at +33 C. In order to achieve this, the male
megapode regularly measures the temperature of the sand with its beak, which
is as sensitive as a thermometer. If necessary, it opens ventilation holes to
reduce the temperature. It is so much so that if a few handfuls of earth are
thrown on the sand, the male megapode immediately removes the extra sand
with its feet and prevents even the slightest change in temperature. The off-
spring come into the world under such protective measures. The newly born
are so developed that they can fly just a few hours after they pop out of their
eggs.
How have these creatures accomplished such a job for millions of years
which even men could hardly do? Since we know that animals have no con-
scious rational intellect as people do, the only explanation of this event is that
this creature is specially "programmed" for this task, and originally created able
to do it. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how it could prepare for this job
six months in advance, or know the nature of this complex chemical process.
Why it embarks on such a difficult task to protect the eggs is another question.
The only answer is hidden in the desire to reproduce and protect the young.

The Signs in Living Things 159