R.I.P. Pygmy Right Whales . . . Or So We Thought . . .

Happy New Year once again everybody! 2013 is (hopefully) going to be an exciting year full of lots of cool stuff! First, I’ll start with some of the “regular” updates.

I have big news about the play I wrote, called “The King on a Cross.” Last Monday, it was confirmed that . . . the play has finally received the go-ahead! This means that casting call for the production will begin very soon! How soon? Well, we aren’t yet sure, but the date is possibly the 25^th of this month. Now we will have to keep praying for a good outcome for this casting call. I still remember the last one we had for the Christmas play I wrote. No one came and I spent the whole time waiting on that uncomfortable church pew waiting for someone to show up . . . but that’s getting off topic! Besides, this is a new year, so let’s stay on the positive side. I will keep you posted on the latest news regarding this production. If you are interested in being in this play, PLEASE be sure to send me an email to animaladventures@aol.com. If you’d like to help with the play but aren’t into acting, there’s still a lot for you to do so you can also send me an email to the address above.

Near the bottom of the world, a species of baleen whale that used to live in the ocean. This whale is called Caperea marginata, a.k.a. the pygmy right whale. The species was discovered by a naturalist named James Clark Ross on a voyage during 1839-1843. The fossils resembled a smaller form of the right whale – a cetacean still found swimming in the oceans today. Despite its name, the pygmy right whale actually not closely related to the right whales, instead, scientists believe it to be closer related to the bowhead whales. Secular scientist were sure that these whales died out around 2 million years ago. So that makes a new question: what are pygmy right whales doing swimming in the oceans of the 21^st century?!?

Pygmy Right Whale

Late last year, scientists found several of these whales swimming in the oceans surrounding Chile, Namibia, South Africa, Tierra del Fuego, Australia and New Zealand. You can bet that scientists were shocked to find that a whale that was thought to have been extinct for 2 million years was rediscovered alive and well! The pygmy right whale is different from all other whales in many ways. For instance, it has an arched frown-like snout, as you can see in the photo above. No other whale has snout like that! These whales grow about 21 feet long when adults and they live out on the open ocean. The fact that they rarely ever come to shore, is a large part of the reason why this whale hasn’t been rediscovered till recently. Like other baleen whales, they lack actual teeth. Instead, their mouths are filled with baleen – long bristly structures that are used to strain little plankton and krill from the water.

Size comparison of a Pygmy Right Whale and a human

One of the scientists studying this newly rediscovered species is Dr. Felix Marx, a paleontologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand (not all paleontologists are dinosaur scientists). “The living pygmy right whale is, if you like, a remnant, almost like a living fossil,” says Dr. Felix. “It’s the last survivor of quite an ancient lineage that until now no one thought was around.” DNA examination tells us that these whales are indeed related to modern baleen whales, but when did the pygmy right whales separate from other baleen whales? Well, most secular scientists will tell you that these whales separated from other baleen whales 17-25 million years ago. But this view is based on looking at the evidence from a Secular worldview. This view is based on the “fact” that the world is millions of years old and that new animal species come into existence by evolving. Now, by looking at the world through a Biblical worldview, we learn that these whales couldn’t have evolved millions of years ago because the world is only about 6,000 years old!

The first whales were created on the fifth day of Creation with all the other flying and swimming creatures just as the Bible tells us. When first created, probably only one basic “species” of baleen whale existed. Sometime after Man’s Fall, the baleen whale “species” changed into many different species due to a process of natural selection, which is very different from evolution (click on the word “natural selection” to learn more). You see, the very first baleen whales were created with all of the genes for the species of whales we see today. When you look at things through a Biblical world-view, everything fits together like a puzzle piece! Even this rediscovered species of strange whale!

Even though the "Animal Face-Off" series I made is finished, that doesn't mean there won't be more videos relating to the series. I decided to make this little tribute to the series for you all to enjoy. I hope you all like it! (PLEASE DON'T WATCH THIS TRIBUTE UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE OTHER VIDEOS IN THIS SERIES, UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS!!! CLICK THE THIS LINK TO SEE THE OTHER VIDEOS) Please enjoy:

I hope you enjoyed this special tribute to the series! How did YOU like it? Please write your comments using the instructions provided in the PS's below.

We've reached the end of this post. If you're like me, you learned a lot today! Even if you're not like me you probably learned a lot! Be sure to stop by next week so together, we can learn more about the amazing world God made for us to enjoy. Bye for now!

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