Ring-necked Ducks : The Truth of Noah’s Ark

Ring-necked Ducks

These are Ring-necked Ducks.  They’re a mated pair, male and female.  Like many birds, the two sexes have different appearances.  To human eyes, males typically look “flashier” while females are more muted.  That is certainly the case here.  Also to human eyes, it’s nearly impossible to discern differences between individual males and females.  What are to us indistinguishable individuals are to the ducks themselves materially different members of their community.  At least that must be the case if scientific theory is correct, and these different appearances are intended to attract mates by signifying better health, breeding prospects, etc.  So what is it that a duck can see in a potential partner that is seemingly invisible to us?

The story of Noah’s Ark recounts how all the animals of the world, in male and female pairs, were preserved from the Flood’s destruction.  Since then, countless charges and counter-charges have been made about whether the story is true.  How did the blue whales fit?  Why didn’t the lions eat the gazelles?  Where were the dinosaurs???  Perhaps a more interesting question is why were animals - and people - saved on the same Ark?  In a miraculous world, Noah’s family could have been saved separately from the animals.  What are we being taught?  What lesson can we derive from these vastly different creatures all being placed together?  Is there a truth here - empirical or metaphorical - that careful study can reveal to us?

The word “umwelt” - I had to look it up! - means the fundamental way an organism sees its world.  Umwelt is basic and unconscious.  People aren’t even aware we see only a portion of light’s spectrum - unlike other animals.  Perhaps the Ark’s lesson is that all the creatures, with all their different faculties, are necessary, and being saved together taught the variety of difference.  We live in the most diverse age of human history.  How can we see - and appreciate - the seemingly unnoticeable differences between people and their ideas?  Can we consciously attune our umwelt and heighten our perception?  These lucky Ducks have seen the merit in one another, may Noah’s Ark remind us to do the same.