MARVEL OF GOD'S
CREATION   #7

The
Beaver

The beaver is another uniquely designed creation. The following is
copied verbatim from Creation Ex Nihilo Vol. 15 No. 2, March-May
1993, pages 38-41. Hopefully you will see the value of subscribing to
this creationist magazine as you read the words of author and scientist,
Denis Dreves:

"Beavers: Aquatic
Architects"

"The dam building ability of
beavers is fairly well known, but beavers possess other amazing design
features which God has included in their anatomy. Beavers are
air-breathing mammals which spend a great deal of time in water. For
this reason they need special equipment.

First, the beaver has
special valves in its ears and nose. When the beaver dives below the
water these valves automatically close so that no water can enter. When
the animal resurfaces, the valves reopen and it breathes
again.

Perhaps their most amazing
piece of equipment is their eyelids. If you have done any diving or
snorkeling you will know that water and materials in it can irritate
your eyes and wash out natural lubricants. Not only that, but your eyes
do not see well under water. That is why snorkelers wear goggles.

Were we original to think up
this idea of goggles?

Not really. God designed
beavers with "built-in" goggles. Their eyelids are transparent, so they
can close their eyes underwater and still see extremely well. Their
transparent eyelids give protection to their eyes from waterborne
irritants.

During winter, beavers must
feed on the bark of trees they have cut and stored in the autumn, using
their specially designed, self-sharpening front incisors (perhaps one of
the beaver's better known pieces of equipment).

The beavers collect the
young trees [usually two to five centimeters (one to two inches) in
diameter] for food, cut them to suitable lengths and then transport
them, by holding them in their teeth, to their underwater cache, forcing
the branches into the mud at the bottom of the pond.

AMAZING DESIGN

Which brings us to another
amazing design feature. To retrieve the stored food in the winter months
when ice covers the pond, the beaver may need to chew the sticks
underwater. They can do this without water entering their mouths,
because they have fur mouth flaps between their front incisors and their
rear molar teeth, which are set considerably further back. These two
folds of skin, one on each side of the mouth, meet behind the incisors
and seal off the rest of the mouth.

The beaver's large
paddle-shaped tail, which has a scale-like skin covering it, is used as
a rudder when it swims. This is particularly important when the animal
is swimming with a branch in its mouth. The tail must compensate for any
uneven drag from the branch, thus the tail is often held at an angle for
accurate steering.

The rear feet of the beaver
are large and webbed like a duck's feet, to give the animal good
swimming ability. The two inner claws of each foot have split toenails,
which the beaver uses as a comb to groom itself and oil its fur.

Beavers use their smaller,
unwebbed front paws to carry mud and other materials, and to dig canals
which they use as a means of transporting wood and also as a means of
quick escape from predators.

The fur of the beaver must
be oiled to prevent water reaching the animal's skin. The oil is
provided from two large oil glands. They are filled with a rich, thick,
deep yellow oily liquid, which the beaver spreads on its fur for
waterproofing. This, along with its two layers of fur, are so effective
that water rarely reaches the skin. A layer of fat beneath the skin
gives further protection against the cold.

A beaver can swim submerged
for perhaps 800 meters (a half-mile) or more. Most air-breathing
creatures would be adversely affected by lack of oxygen to the brain.
The beaver has special equipment to compensate for this need. Large
lungs and liver allow for the storage of more air and oxygenated blood.
In addition, a beaver's heart beats more slowly when it dives, in order
to conserve oxygen, and the blood is restricted to the animals
extremities while the vital supply to the brain remains normal.

ENGINEERING SKILLS

Beavers construct dams that
may be hundreds of meters long. Construction of the dam is done by
cutting down trees and shrubs, dragging each piece to the dam-site, and
laying them in the water parallel to the stream (end facing upstream).
Almost everything the beavers can find goes into the dam - live wood,
dead wood, mud, grass and rocks. When the beaver's pond floods, mounting
pressure on the dam can cause it to break. To prevent this, if there is
time, the beaver engineers a spillway to relieve pressure, then fixes it
after the water subsides.

Beaver lodges are also the
work of a master builder. They are built with sticks, and sealed from
the cold with mud. The center of the roof is not sealed, which allows
some ventilation. Access is only from underwater, with more than one
entry in case of the need to escape. The beavers can gain direct
underwater access to the cache of sticks they have stored under the
water when ice covers the pond in winter and this is their only
available food.

Truly the beaver is yet
another example of the wonderful provision and wise planning of a caring
Creator God. Such variety of essential equipment could not have evolved
over time by chance and selection. All of the beaver's equipment must be
present and fully functional in the animal from the beginning for it to
survive its semi-aquatic life-style."

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