Ask a Baraminologist: Mammalian

Our first question comes from Renae, who asks: “I was just wondering if you could talk about the zonkey?”

For those who don’t know, a zonkey is a cross between a female donkey and a male zebra. They are usually sterile, meaning they cannot have their own babies. Sometimes they are larger than zebras but can have a bold stripe pattern or sometimes only carry faint stripes like a zebra. Our zonkey is named Cletus. He can be seen at the Ararat Ridge Zoo at the Ark Encounter along with our zorse, Zoe. Cletus and Zoe share the same father, so they are half-siblings. Zebroids were originally bred in Africa for farm work since the zebra parent gave them better heat, disease, and pest resistance, as well as greater strength and endurance.

Our next question comes from Lily, who asks, “Were mammoths real?”

Awesome question, Lily! I understand asking this question, given the number of false or inaccurate claims about fossils evolutionists have made over the years. However, we have good evidence that mammoths and mastodons were real organisms. We have dug up complete skeletons of both, sometimes even with skin and stomach contents intact. So while you are wise to be discerning about what evolutionists tell you, in this case, they are telling you the truth. Mammoths are absolutely real.

Our third question comes from Brianna, who asks, “What makes a dog a dog, and why is it not called a cat? They both have a tail, ears, and whiskers.”

Photo by Alec Favale on Unsplash

Awesome questions, Brianna! Dogs and cats do share many similar traits, such as hair, a tail, ears, whiskers, and so on. But those characteristics are also true of many other mammals like tamarins, rats, and rabbits. Yet, I don’t think you would have any difficulty telling the difference between a cat, a dog, a rabbit, a tamarin, and a rat. This is because they have significant differences, and each group has a unifying nature. If you have ever been around a dog and a cat, you will likely have noticed behavioral differences. There are also skeletal and physiological differences.

Scientists use differences and similarities to classify organisms. Simply having fur, a tail, ears, and whiskers is not enough to make organisms the same. Further, dogs and cats cannot interbreed, meaning they are not members of the same kind. So scientists are justified in separating them from one another.

Our final question comes from Elijah, who asks, “Are all lizards part of the same kind?”

Awesome question, Elijah! It is highly unlikely that all lizards are members of the same kind. There are slightly less than 50 families of lizards currently recognized. It is likely that this also represents roughly the number of created kinds, though there will be some variation. However, a lot more research is needed to elucidate the exact number of lizard created kinds. Maybe this is something you can help with one day!

I hope these answers help you and are a blessing to you. Please feel free to keep sending in the questions, and I’ll get to them as soon as I can! However, please help me out. If you have more than one unrelated question, please submit them separately. It makes them easier for me to process.