Claim CH512.2:
The average size of the animals aboard the ark was the size of a sheep or
less, so Noah's ark was not overly crowded.
Source:
Whitcomb, John C. Jr. and Henry M. Morris, 1961. The Genesis Flood.
Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., p.
69.
Woodmorappe, John, 1996. Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study,
Santee,
CA: ICR, p. 13.
Response:
- It is the total size of all animals aboard the ark that matters, not
the average size. The total size is greater than would have been
practical for the ark to carry (Isaak 1998).
- The average size of vertebrate aboard the ark was 347 kg (765 lb.),
according to the values used by Woodmorappe (1996). Woodmorappe said
that Whitcomb and Morris's sheep comparison is overly generous because
the median size is that of a large rat, but the median statistic is not
useful for anything in this context. Woodmorappe placed 15,746
animals aboard the ark, for a total weight of 5,464,000 kg. This is
equivalent to 347 kg per animal.
Links:
Isaak, Mark, 1998. Problems with a global flood, 2nd ed.,
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html
References:
- Isaak, M., 1998 (see above).
- Woodmorappe, J., 1996 (see above).
created 2003-5-15
