“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I
make up MY JEWELS.”
(Malachi 3:17)
To my dear grandchildren
Ever Meet a Walrus?
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.”
(Psalm 145:3)
What a marvellous sight it must be for a person standing on an Alaskan cliff to see a great mass of huge, brown walruses sprawled on the ocean shore below. There are sometimes hundreds or thousands of them—some lying on their stomachs or sides and others lying on their backs—all pressed tightly together with their long, white tusks pointing in every direction!
None seem to worry that the sharp tusks of others might stab them. However, a late comer working his way through the mass is always met with angry snorts and grunts and even some jabbing with the tusks, but not enough to really harm it. Seems like they are saying, “GET OUT OF HERE!”
Walruses live only in the cold Arctic, far from civilization. They eat about 200 pounds of clams, snails, oysters, fish and other marine life daily from the ocean. When not busy looking for food, they like to rest on shore, sprawling closely together to share each other’s warmth. At certain times of the year, these masses break up into smaller groups.
These giants continue to gain weight. An old male may weigh 2000 to 3000 pounds! Their entire bodies are covered with a thick, black layer of wrinkly blubber, covered with orange-brown hair, providing wonderful insulation, just like a warm blanket, from the icy-cold waters.
Walruses are anything but pretty. They have puffy, whiskered muzzles with long tusks that point downward from their upper jaws. These tusks are actually extra-long teeth, 6 inches or more in diameter and taper to a sharp point at the end. They are about 36 inches long and weigh about 12 pounds each.
The Creator designed their tusks to handle several jobs: for protection from their enemies (polar bears), for pulling themselves up on the ice, and for digging shellfish from the ocean bottom. Tusks of the males are much longer and thicker than the females’.
Eskimos are now the only people allowed to hunt walruses, and for many they are a main source of food. Catching one is a great event, not only for the amount of meat it supplies, but for its valuable ivory tusks and its skins which make good leather.
Animals such as these may seem strange to us, but they have a definite place in God’s creation. When we think of all He has created, small and great, we can only agree with the Bible verse that says, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).
King David said, “Happy is He . . . whose hope is in the Lord His God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is” (Psalm 146:5-6). This is true happiness.
Love you all - Grandpa
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