God of Wonders - part 1

Never in a million years did I ever imagine that I would be working as a summer camp counselor at Sea World. Less than 6 months ago I didn't even know Sea World had kids programs - much less a resident camp. Yet here I am. I arrived here on June 1st, fully knowing that nothing of my own merit had landed me this position - I had already been denied the job once, only to be called two weeks prior to training to be informed that camper enrollment had gone up and they needed one more counselor, and I was it. God's signature was all over this job from the start. I hadn't even been looking for the job when a flier was thrust in my face, and I half consciously took the steps I needed to to qualify myself for the job. The salary attached to the application was the exact amount I needed to make to enable my participation as a missions team leader the following summer. Granted taxes and the like take quite a chunk - but the Lord has always provided before, and I don't know why He wouldn't continue to do so now.

 

So bidding my family good-bye I hopped on a plane to San Diego and arrived the next morning for training - fully dreading the science/informational part of my job, but excited for the opportunity to work with kids again. Little did I know then what I know now - that all that informational/science-y stuff has just about made my summer.

When I consider ... the works of your fingers ... The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! 

                         Psalm 8

Working at Sea World I definitely developed a certain love for the animals there, but even more than that I often times found my self completely in awe of the intricacy and detail of their design. Who but God could create such magnificence!? Maybe by sharing some of my new findings you too will see the magnificence of the creator.

  FUN FACTS

The Beluga Whale

• Adult beluga whales are nearly completely white as a camouflage in the Arctic waters where they swim. This way predators mistake them for floating ice.
• Baby Belugas, or calves, are a dark gray color,because just like human little kids they like to move around a lot, and aren't likely to be mistaken for floating ice that way. Instead their color blends more closely with the water around them, or their mother's shadow.
• Belugas are known as the Canaries of the sea, they have over 60 different vocalizations that they make using their blowhole and different nasal cavities in their very squishy melon.

• These whale are the only whales with the capability to move their head back and forth separately from the rest of their bodies. This allows them to wiggle out of tight spots while swimming around, in, and out of underwater ice caves etc. Belugas also have the rare ability to swim backwards for the same reason. 

Sharks

• Sharks are some of the most facinating marine animals I had the priviledge to teach about this summer. As one of the top predators of the sea they have an extrememly intricate network of 6 senses.
• Sense #1 - smell. This is the sense that gets everyone freaked out about going into the water if they have an injury or cut. Sharks can small 1 particle per billion of blood in the water. That would be like filling a room full of 1 billion oranges and expecting someone to find a blueberry while blindfolded with their hands tied behind their back.
• Sense #2 - taste. Sharks, as you may have noticed do not have hands. So instead of being able to investigate things through their sense of touch, as we do, they use their sense of taste.
• Sense #3 & 4 - hearing and vision. There isn't anything particularly fascinating about a sharks ability to hear, however it is interesting to note that a shark has no eyelids to protect it's eyes...which leads me to sense #5...

• Sense #5 - Ampulae of Lorenzini (isn't that just fun to say!?)These little guys are pretty cool. They look like tiny black heads on the underside of a sharks "nose". But these lil' guys are way cooler than black heads, they can actually sense electrical currents in the water. Everything alive gives off electrical currents because of the mini surges of electricity that keep our brains going. So in the last couple seconds before a shark attacks it's prey a sharks eyes will roll back. This way their vision will not become damaged incase of any uncompliant fishes. Instead of by sight the shark will be guided to it's prey through their electrical current. Crazy stuff huh?
• Sense # 6 - lateral lines. These things are also pretty fascinating. Lateral lines are literally mini tubes that line a sharks body and are filled with water via tiny pores, not unlike the ones people have on their noses. Within these lateral lines there are teeny tiny hairs that can sense different water currents. From these currents they can tell where they are and can even detect if other marine animals are creating disruptions in the current. They can also tell if said animal is healthy or struggling...which I think it insane.
• Don't worry I'm almost done with my shark shpeal...just one more thing.  Did you know that modern day air planes were designed somewhat from studies of how sharks are able to swim in the water? the wings on the side of a plane are what enable it to lift off the ground just like the pectoral fins of a shark are what give it life in the water. The rutter of a boat is a similar idea to the function of a sharks cotal(tail) fin which is used for steering. Isn't it funny that man spends so much time trying to imitate and re-make that which God has already perfected? 

Penguins

 

• Thing number one that you should know - a polar bear and a penguin will never meet. Penguins only live in the southern hemisphere, mostly in Antarctica - but the rage as far north as the Galapagos islands of Ecuador.
• Penguins are a bird especially designed for the harsh environment of the south pole. If you hold up your hand an make the okay sign the circle between your pointer finger and thumb is about a square inch. in that space a penguin will have anywhere between 80 and 100 feathers. The average bird has only about 20. Because of this thick feather, if I remember correctly, penguins maintain a body temp. of about 103 degrees F.
• Emperor penguins have been made famous through movies like march of the penguins and happy feet. Some of the ideas in these films are true. Penguins are known to have very strong parental instincts, and are know to return to the same mate year after year - although not always as some like to believe.

• Penguins along with most marine creatures coloration is specifically for camouflage purposes, it's called counter shading. A penguin's belly is white because when underwater looking up towards the surface it appears light from the brightness of the sun and sky. The opposite is true of one looking down into the depths of the ocean, it appears black, just like a penguins back.  

Well, thats all for now folks... I hope i haven't bored you too much. a couple months ago I probably could have cared less about all these random fun facts, but now I just can't seem to get enough of them and the God that their intricacies point to. There will be another post to come, after all how could I contain all I've learned in only one post?

~Shaela