The Affection of Grebe Birds For Their Offspring

What might be expected from an animal that has no consciousness is its leaving its offspring after giving birth. However, on the contrary, animals take all the responsibilities for their offspring to such an extent that they don't neglect measures that could protect their broods from dangers they might face in the future.

One of the best examples of this is the grebe, a species of water bird. Grebes carry their offspring on their backs and, for this reason, the parents become a kind of floating nest for their offspring.

The newly hatched youngsters climb onto the back of the father or mother. The mother slowly raises her wings so that her offspring will not fall off and feeds them with morsels she holds in her beak, reaching her head out to one side.

However what grebes give to their offspring first is not actual food. Grebes first make their offspring eat feathers that they either collect from the surface of the water or pluck from their breasts. Each chick swallows a large number of feathers. Well, what might be the reason for this interesting diet?

The feathers the chicks eat are not fully digested but rather gathered in their stomachs. Some of them form a felted plug at the point where the stomach leads to the intestine. Fish bones and indigestible parts of other foods accumulate here. Thus, sharp fish bones or hard parts of insects are prevented from passing through the stomach and doing harm to the delicate walls of the intestines. This experience of eating feathers will continue throughout the bird's life. However, the first feathers it is fed are an important precautionary measure for its very health.

It is possible to see in all creatures behavior like that of the grebes, actions aimed at meeting the needs of the offspring and protecting them in every way. Every creature on Earth assumes every kind of responsibility for their offspring until they reach sufficient maturity to meet their own needs.

This kind of behavior seen among creatures in nature nullifies the evolutionists' claims that "nature is an arena for battle and the survival of the fittest." It is obvious that the origin of this kind of behavior in creatures cannot be in their intelligence and that a bird, tiger or any other animal cannot act according to the needs of other animals, taking delicate details into consideration. These creatures behave by the inspiration of Allah. Allah inspires every creature in its behavior and they conform to this perfectly. Every one of them obeys Allah who has created them. This fact is stated in the Qur'an as follows:

Everyone in the heavens and earth belongs to Him. All are submissive to Him. (Surat ar-Rum: 26)

This article is based on the works of www.Harunyahya.com