The Koala's Medical Knowledge
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make use of only 35 of these. For the koala bear, the eucalyptus is
not just a shelter, but an important food source. It's no exaggeration to
say that the eucalyptus is actually its sole food, which also serve the
koala as medicine.
Eucalyptus leaves possess a number of medicinal properties. They
contain enteric oil, a chemical that is deadly to a great many animals.
Yet the koala's liver is capable of neutralizing this oil, which is also the
source of the koala's characteristic smell.
Some of the oil, which spreads over the whole body mixes with
the air, and some enters into the body, causing parasitic insects to
drop out of the animal's fur.
The harmony between the koala and the eucalyptus does not end
there, since thanks to the eucalyptus leaves, the koala also regulates
its body temperature.
The chemical substances in eucalyptus leaves vary from tree to
tree. Indeed, two different types of leaf can be found on just one tree.
Yet just as if it had received medical training, the koala selects those
The two inner toes on the koala bear's front paws and
the two inner toes on its back paws form a specific angle
with its remaining other toes, just like our own thumbs do
with our fingers. This perfectly designed structure makes
the koala such a good tree climber. It's of course no coincidence
that these attributes should be found in the
koala, since they're the result of God's perfect creation.
leaves it needs from among the hundreds on the branches. If its body
temperature is low, and the animal feels cold, then it chews leaves
containing the oil phellandrene. Similarly, if the koala is running a
temperature, it chews leaves which contain a high level of cineol and
thus cools its body down. Other oils in eucalyptus leaves reduce the
koala's blood pressure and allow its muscles to recuperate.15
All these forms of behavior require expert knowledge. How does
the koala know which species of eucalyptus contain the substances it
needs?
No human being can know what substances a leaf contains simply
by looking at it. But the koala does not only recognize different eucalyptus
leaves, but also knows how to use them.
Even assuming that we can somehow know what substances the
leaves contain, we cannot know what they can be used for without
undergoing training or reading a treatise on the subject. Trial and
error will be a rather dangerous procedure, since the leaves contain
poisonous substances.
This means that the koala must not only identify the contents of
the leaves, but also has to design a mechanism to neutralize their
harmful effects. It must then somehow produce that mechanism in its
own body, or it will die. That totally eliminates the irrational possibility
that it does this by means of trial and error.
For any koala bear to survive, it must have come into being with its
existing bodily structure; otherwise it will die. These conclusions are
clear proofs that koalas came into existence with all these features already
functional. There is clearly no room for evolutionary scenarios
that have nothing to do with the scientific facts or with reason and
logic. As will be considered in more detail later on, these creatures'
body structure is the product of a perfect creation.
Engineering in Nature
God has created the koala with features that let it use eucalyptus
leaves in various ways. God possesses all forms of knowledge. Our
Lord has ordained where the animal would be brought into being,
along with its abilities, its appearance, and a great many other details.
God's creative artistry is flawless and matchless. In the Qur'an it is
revealed:
That is the Knower of the unseen and the visible, the Almighty,
the Most Merciful. He Who has created all things in the best
possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay.
(Surat as-Sajda: 6-7)
Engineering in Nature page 46-48
