Chow Time for Carnivores on Noah's Ark

We all have ultimate starting points. Those of us who believe the Bible are to presuppose that it is true, just as unbelievers presuppose materialistic or pagan mythologies. Both biblical creation science and adherents of universal common descent use operational and historical (forensic) science. Things become more complicated when discussing Noah's Ark.

Credit: RGBStock / Savvas Stavrinos

Using science and what is observed in living things today, creationists also reason from Scripture to determine how Noah and the others provided food for carnivores on the Ark. In the beginning, creation was very good. There was no carnivory until after Adam sinned, and humans were not permitted to eat meat until after the Flood.

Since God brought pairs of animal kinds (which were probably very different than species living today), they were intended to be kept alive. Noah didn't say, "Put the ugly ones off to the left so we can feed them to the carnivores."

Obviously, there has to be some amount of speculation. When attempting to determine what went on in the distant past, everyone does that — especially when eyewitness accounts and historical artefacts are incomplete. In addition, the entire Ark episode was miraculous in nature. We know that "God did it", but we can also work on how God did it. Those who presuppose naturalism ridicule Scripture because it doesn't fit their paradigm. However, we don't have to cede to secular demands.

We know from the fossil record (most of which is a testimony of the worldwide, globe-covering flood) that some animals were carnivores in the post-fall/pre-flood world. But even if carnivory was prevalent in the late pre-flood world, it is still possible that the animals that God sent to Noah did not eat meat or were omnivores that could have survived for one year without meat. There have been modern examples of animals normally considered to be carnivores that refused to eat meat, such as the lion known as Little Tyke. Additionally, during times of war or natural disaster when meat was unobtainable, zoos and wildlife parks have utilized meat substitutes like nuts, peanut butter, coconuts, beans, soy, and other legumes as their protein-source feed for the animals.

To read the rest, float on over to "Feeding Carnivores on Noah’s Ark". You may also be interested in the two links in the "Animals and Dinosaurs on Noah's Ark".