Surprising Animals on Noah's Ark

People have concepts about Noah's Ark, but most of them probably come from cutesie books for children. Mayhaps they imagine those floating bathtub things with giraffes sticking their heads out. Atheists (and many Christians) laugh at Noah's Ark because of what the Bible does not teach.

It may come as a shock that paintings and such showing animals going on the Ark were modern animals, and are probably wrong. The artists worked from what they knew. What Noah carried were the biblical kinds from very long ago.

Ark Encounter, Pixabay / Michael Wysmiersk

Several articles have been featured on this site from Answers in Genesis regarding several aspects of the Ark, how it was seaworthy, the way it may have been built, how many animals, and more. But the critters themselves? They researched that aspect as well, presupposing the truth of the Bible but also incorporating paleontology and other sciences. Several things to think about are presented.

Formerly a zookeeper at Answers in Genesis’ Creation Museum, I was transferred a few years back to work with scientists to help develop a who’s who of animals on board the full-size Ark Encounter, located in Kentucky. I already knew a few popular misconceptions about the animals on Noah’s ark, such as the common belief that no dinosaurs were aboard, but many other big—and little—surprises awaited me.

By studying the diversity of animals on Noah’s ship, we can understand how many creatures were destroyed in the flood and how so few animals repopulated the earth with the variety we enjoy today.

To read all of the article or listen to the audio, sail on over to "All Aboard—Unexpected Passengers on Noah’s Ark."