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Fasting
of the Spiny Anteater
By:
Dr. `Abd Al-Hakam `Abd Al-Latif As-Sa`idi
Lecturer of Entomology – Faculty of Agriculture – Al-Azhar
University
The
echidna, or spiny anteater, is one of several nocturnal, burrowing,
egg-laying mammals. It lives in Australia, Tasmania, and New
Guinea. It is toothless and covered with spines. It has a slender
snout and an extensible sticky tongue used for catching insects,
such as ants and termites.
The
spiny anteater prefers to live on mountains and high places over
200 meters above sea level. It likes to stay in uninhabited places
and shadowed forests. This is due to its feeding habits, for it
feeds on ants. When the spiny anteater extends its long sticky
tongue inside an ant tunnel, hundreds of ants cling to it, forming
a delicious meal for the anteater.
It
is an aspect of Allah’s Wisdom that is manifest in His creation
that the echidna has thick skin to protect it from the ants’
stings. Another interesting phenomenon is that the echidna mixes
the insects with dust, sand and dry herbs, which help to digest the
insects.
The
echidna can abstain from food for a period that may exceed a whole
month without it having the least effect on its vitality. Lack of
food does not weaken it. The secret behind this may be that the
echidna eats greedily, filling its body with extra fat that burdens
it. When food decreases due to an increase in their numbers or
during their migration, echidnas involuntarily fast. Hence they
lose extra weight and restore their activity. This is one of the
manifestations of Allah’s Power and Wisdom in His Creation.
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