" We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged." - Dissent from Darwin

Natural selection [is used] carelessly as a mantra, as in the evidence-free “just-so stories” concocted out of thin air by mentally lazy adaptationists. (Stephen Jay Gould)

In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God's existence. (Isaac newton)

Friday, February 16, 2007

How Elephant Got his Trunk

On Monday 9 August 2004, BBC Radio 4 broadcast the first of a series on “Real Just So Stories”. Stimulated by Rudyard Kipling’s stories for children, the programme presenter, Alistair McGowan, asks: “What really happened?” This episode was entitled “How the Elephant Got Its Trunk”
Adrian Lister, Professor of Palaeobiology at University College London, explained that the trunk leaves no fossils. However, the skull can be studied for evidence of muscle attachment points. He said that all the potential ancestors for the elephant were small, possibly amphibious, and rather like a hippo in not having a trunk. However, as the animals grew in size, they would have found it difficult to get supplies of water. They could not stoop to drink because of their short necks and stocky legs. A trunk would allow them to get water without stooping. The ancestral elephants were “blessed by evolution with this wonderful structure”.

Storyteller : Adrian Lister, Professor of Palaeobiology at University College London

Story Research: http://www.biblicalcreation.org.uk/scientific_issues/bcs143.html

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow that is so cool

Anonymous said...

one would think, using darwins theory of survival of the fittest that a creature with a short neck (as this story of the elephant goes) or whatever, incapable of reaching a water supply, would be a prime candidate for non- survival, not magical transformations in creatures.