Magnetic mole rats intrigue scientists, as reported in Nature, vol. 427, p409, 29 January 2004. Mole rats are small blind animals that live in complex underground burrow systems, where they move about without any visual signals to guide them. Instead, they use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate. Tali Kimich of Tel Aviv University and colleagues, tested mole rats’ ability to navigate by placing them in mazes, which they quickly learned to negotiate to find food or their nest burrow. However, if an artificial magnetic field orientated at the different angle to the earth’s magnetic field was applied to the maze, the animals lost their bearings and frequently doubled back, even though they had previously worked out the shortest route to their target.
Editorial Comment: Human beings had to use their creative intelligence to invent compasses and maps in order to use the earth’s magnetic field to navigate. Therefore, wherever we find an example of an animal with built in compass and mapping system, and there are quite few, we have evidence of creation. (Ref. mole-rats, navigation, compass)