Page 870 - Atlas of Creation Volume 1

Left: A cuttlefish that makes it-
self look like the sandy surface.
Right: The bright yellow colour
the same fish turns in case of
danger, such as when it is seen
by a diver.

Having reached the place where they hatched, female salmon lay around 3 to 5 thousand eggs as male salmon

fertilise them. The fish suffer much damage as a result of this migration and hatching period. Females that lay
eggs become exhausted; their tail fins are worn down and their skin starts to turn black. The same is true also
for males. The river soon overflows with dead salmon. Yet another salmon generation is ready to hatch out and
make the same journey.

How salmon complete such a journey, how they reach the sea after they hatch, and how they find their way
are just some of the questions that remain to be answered. Although many suggestions are made, no definite
solution has yet been reached. What is the power that makes salmon undertake a return of thousands of kilo-
metres back to a place unknown to them? It is obvious that there is a superior Will ruling over and controlling

all these living beings. It is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds.

Koalas

The oil found in eucalyptus leaves is poisonous to many mammals. This poison is a chemical defence
mechanism used by eucalyptus trees against their enemies. Yet there is
a very special living being that gets the better of this mechanism
and feeds on poisonous eucalyptus leaves: a marsupial called the

koala. Koalas make their homes in eucalyptus trees while they also
feed on them and obtain their water from them.
Like other mammals, koalas also cannot digest the cellulose present

in the trees. For this, it is dependent on cellulose-di-
gesting micro-organisms. These micro-organisms
are heavily populated in the convergence point of
small and large intestines, the caecum which is the
rear extension of the intestinal system. The caecum

is the most interesting part of the digestion system of
the koala. This segment functions as a fermentation
chamber where microbes are made to digest cellulose while

the passage of the leaves is delayed. Thus, the koala can neu-
tralise the poisonous effect of the oils in the eucalyptus leaves. 187

Hunting Ability in Constant Position

The South African sundew plant entraps insects with its viscous hairs. The
leaves of this plant are full of long, red hairs. The tips of these hairs are covered
with a fluid that has a smell that attracts insects. Another feature of the fluid is its

being extremely viscous. An insect that makes its way to the source of the smell gets
stuck in these viscous hairs. Shortly afterwards the whole leaf is closed down on the in-
sect that is already entangled in the hairs and the plant extracts the protein essential for itself
from the insect by digesting it. 188

The endowment of a plant with no possibility of moving from its place with such a faculty is no

868 Atlas of Creation