Creation Moments

Jonathan Cotton: The life of a toad in the desert takes careful planning. Learn about it next on today's Creation Moment. And now, here's our Creation Moment host, Ian Taylor.

Ian T. Taylor: Few deserts are more inhospitable than the Sonoran Desert of North America. Life is so hard there that even the Couch's spadefoot toad must lie dormant for 11 out of 12 months. The spadefoot has an internal clock which tells it when the violent desert rainstorms are near and when to begin to near the surface of the ground. The toads, extremely sensitive to ground vibrations, can hear the pounding rains miles away. The distant rains bring the toads up out of the sand so that as soon as the pools have formed, the male toads are in them calling for the females.

Mating and egg laying are completed by the morning and dawn finds the toads safely protected from the sun's heat beneath the sand. But the desert pools quickly reach 100 degrees and will not last long before they dry up, killing the eggs. Under ideal conditions, it takes only nine days for the eggs to hatch. However, even in a good year, the young toads only have a few weeks at most to eat the food necessary to keep them alive for the next 11 months until the next rain. Our Creator God not only creates life which can survive under the most extreme circumstances, but he is also the source of eternal life.

Jonathan Cotton: For stunning imagery, reference articles, or to listen to today's Creation Moment again, download the Creation Moments app on your phone or visit creationmoments.com. For additional resources, call us toll-free at 1-800-42 Bible. That's 1-800-422-4253. And be sure to join us next time for another Creation Moment.