THE WONDROUS BEAUTY IN ANIMALS -6-

THE WONDROUS BEAUTY IN ANIMALS -6-

Even though baby deer can stand up right after they are born, they are essentially helpless and cannot walk until later. So meanwhile, how are they protected from their enemies?

Until it can run as fast as its mother, a baby deer's best protection is to hide. Because of the dead-leaf color of its fur and the spotted designs it is virtually invisible in its underbrush environment. The mother deer hides its baby in the forest where the white spots on the baby's reddish brown fur blend with dappled sunlight. When its mother is away foraging, the baby lies down and waits, motionless. Usually the mother deer is always somewhere nearby but, to avoid drawing attention to her baby, she rarely approaches it closely except for short visits.23

How does the baby deer know that it must hide to protect itself? How does it know that the spots of its fur will blend with the overhanging vegetation and that enemies will not perceive it if it stays completely still?

Say: “Who is the Lord of the heavens and the Earth?” Say: “Allah.” Say: “So why have you taken protectors apart from Him who possess no power to help or harm themselves?” Say: “Are the blind and seeing equal? Or are darkness and light the same? Or have they assigned partners to Allah who create as He creates, so that all creating seems the same to them?” Say: “Allah is the Creator of everything. He is the One, the All-Conquering.” (Surat ar-Ra’d: 16)

What is in the heavens and in the Earth belongs to Allah. Allah suffices as a guardian. (Surat an-Nisa’: 132)

Say :Have you thought about your partner gods, those you call upon besides Allah? Show me what they have created of the Earth…” (Surah Fatir: 40

Do not set up another god together with Allah. Truly I bring you a clear warning from Him. (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 51)

The Unseen of the heavens and the Earth belongs to Allah and the whole affair will be returned to Him. So worship Him and put your trust in Him… (Surah Hud: 123)

… He knows everything in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowing it… (Surat al-An’am: 59)

Surely, the baby cannot know these things by itself. These features and behavior are inspired in it by Almighty Allah, Who knows all creatures’ needs and protects them:

Everything in the heavens and everything in the Earth belongs to Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent. (Surat ash-Shura: 4)

Shortly after birth, baby mountain goats must move on and follow their mothers, or they will remain unprotected. Allah has created every creature with perfection and has given it all the special characteristics it may require.

When baby mountain goats are born, they can hear and see. Their hair has already grown long enough to protect them against the cold, and they start to climb steep slopes with their mothers soon after they are born.24

Wolves are thought of as one of the most savage animals in the natural world, yet both parents look after their babies together. A basic wolf pack comprises an alpha male, a female, newborn cubs and sometimes one or two young wolves. Females in the pack assist each other. Sometimes, one will stay in the den all night to look after the pups, which allows their mothers to go hunting.

He is Allah--the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form… (Surat Al-Hashr: 24)

Mankind! Remember Allah’s blessing to you. Is there any creator other than Allah providing for you from heaven and Earth? There is no god but Him. So how have you been led astray? (Surah Fatir: 3)

And mankind and beasts and livestock are likewise of varying colors. Only those of His servants with knowledge have fear of Allah...(Surah Fatir: 28)

22. David Attenborough, The Trials of Life, pp. 30-33.
23. Russell Freedman, How Animals Defend Their Young, pp. 47-48.
24. Roger B. Hirschland, How Animals Care for Their Babies, National Geographic Society, Washington D.C.: 1987, p. 8.