Ken Ham: Did Fossils Destroy Evolution’s Old Myths?

Fire-Surviving Echidnas Reveal God’s Design

In my home country of Australia, there’s a cute little mammal called the echidna. Echidnas, sometimes called spiny anteaters, are monotremes, which means they are mammals that lay eggs (like the more famous platypus of Australia). Well, apparently these little animals excel at surviving fires in our fallen world.

A fire was deliberately started in a nature preserve in Australia to help fire-dependent vegetation grow. Instead of fleeing the fire, as most animals would do, the echidnas stuck around, and nearly all of them survived. Researchers believe it’s likely that they curled up in thick trees or logs and entered a state known as torpor. This allows them to become “inert and chilly,” thus heavily reducing their energy needs and helping them to survive with limited resources. Interestingly, some creation researchers think that perhaps some animals on the Ark entered a torpid state during the voyage, cutting down on the amount of food they would require.