Claim CH513:
The care and feeding of animals aboard the ark could be significantly
lessened by animals hibernating or otherwise staying dormant for much of
the voyage.
Source:
Whitcomb, John C. Jr. and Henry Morris, 1961. The Genesis Flood.
Philadelphia: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publish Co., p. 71.
Response:
- Most animals do not hibernate, and most of the ones that do are small
animals. The large animals are the ones that require the most food and
care. Among them, hibernation would probably have been an
insignificant factor. Woodmorappe (1996, 127-135) considered the issue
of dormancy uncertain enough that he did not include it in his
calculations.
- The opposite problem of overstimulation or lack of privacy may have
been a problem for some animals. In zoos, great care is necessary to
provide not only food, but also the proper stimuli to keep animals
healthy (Hsun and Menon 2003). In particular, large spaces are
necessary for territorial animals to behave normally, and the sight or
sound of predators will increase the stress of their prey.
References:
created 2003-5-14, modified 2003-8-12
