If Noah had pairs of all animals on the Ark, what did they eat? Some animals eat only other animals! ?

Question

If the Noah's Ark fable was true, Noah would have to have a great variety of food to feed all the animals, some of whom were meat eaters who eat other animals? He couldn't take dead animals for food, because refrigeration was unknown then. Besides, catching animals was not up Noah's alley.

Well, maybe Noah was able to catch two of each, but he couldn't hunt enough animals with his water gun to feed all his ark menagerie.

Hey, you guys answering are making up silly answers, just like the jokesters that wrote those crazy Biblical stories that make no sense, like Noah having enough room to fill his ark with animals and food for a long flood. Think of all the food he would need to feed two varieties of each dinosaur.

Answer 1

Don't worry. Santa, the tooth fairy and the eastern bunny help them.

Answer 2

How Could Noah and His Family Care for the Many Animals on Board the Ark? (#200)
by John Morris, Ph.D.
Abstract
Cooped up for months, pitching and rolling with the Ark, surrounded by the noise of the storm and the presence of other animals (Genesis 7:21-22). How would they cope?

Detractors from the Bible story of the Flood have scoffed at the idea of just a few people carrying out all the duties of animal care for a year. Without a doubt, it would have been a daunting task considering the number of animals and the frightening circumstances, but would it have been impossible?

Earlier studies have shown that the total number of animals in question are less than the millions the detractors envision. Noah was told to take two of each "kind" of animal on board, probably represented by today's "families" or "genera" rather than species. For instance, the dog "kind" includes many species—wolf, domestic dog, dingo, coyote, etc. Furthermore, most animal types are small, only a few dozen are large, making the average size something on the order of a cat. (John Woodmorappe's excellent book, Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study, looks into this issue in depth.) The great majority of today's animals live in the sea and did not need to be on board.

But how about those inside? Cooped up for months, pitching and rolling with the Ark, surrounded by the noise of the storm and the presence of other animals (Genesis 7:21-22). How would they cope? And what about the meat-eaters?

It's well known that all animals can survive on a meatless diet. Care must be taken to satisfy their nutritional needs, but it is possible. Some carnivores even choose a vegetarian lifestyle. Other animal studies have noted that some animals, such as the bear, hibernate to survive times of undue stress. Many other animals (and perhaps nearly all) are able to enter into a
period of relative dormancy or estivation when faced with a danger they cannot overcome and from which they cannot flee. In such a state they require minimal food and exercise, and excrete little. In such a state, aggressive tendencies are ignored. The presence of a common, overwhelming predicament eliminates former predator/prey relationships.

Scripture actually hints at such a situation. Noah was told to build an Ark equipped with "rooms" for the animals. (Genesis 6:14). But the Hebrew word used is everywhere else rendered "nests," as in (Deuteronomy 32:11) where it applies to birds, but it's also applied to a place of rest and safety for humans too (Job 29:18). Is this an indication that the animals were to merely snuggle up and wait until the danger was over?

There is no way of knowing, of course, because this was a unique event, not repeatable nor testable in the present and the only One who knows didn't give us all the details. But wouldn't it be just like Noah's gracious God to make the job easier for him?

One final thought. The origin of this mysterious hibernation ability has no ready explanation in science. Might we not suppose that the loving Creator endowed animals onboard the Ark with this survival mechanism? There was probably no need for such an ability before the Flood. All animals today are descended from those on the Ark and all have inherited it. Since science has no better explanation for its origin, this supposition, which fits all the facts, should be given due consideration.

Answer 3

Oh, dear.

Ponderingwisdom has always found, ever since she was a little girl, the story of Noah and his menagerie to be a delightful story.

It is a story of catastophe and adversity, of danger, of hope, of deliverance and promise.

It is a story that is warm and cozy as Noah and his family listening to the pounding rain and rocking waves and feed and comfort the frightened animals.

It is a story of surviving against all odds.

Now we must enter discussions as to whether there were guns to shoot food with, scary dinosaurs on board, the capacity for refrigeration, supplies of raw meat for the carnivorous beasties, etc. Some are drawing floor plans of the ark, cauculating whether or not it would float, estimating weights, volumes, lengths, widths and doing cubit conversions.

I think the point of the story is not whether or not it could happen, whether or not it was based on Gilgamesh or even more ancient Flood stories, but rather a story meant to inspire courage, hope, and renewal in the face of calamity.

Why do we have Harry Potter? the Lone Ranger? Superman? ...for that matter, even Dr. House!! Something in us needs these stories that supply us with courage and willingness to go on in the face of a scary world continually on the verge of blowing itself up.

There are numerous studies that show the value of myth and story in shaping society. Rollo May points to the myth of "manifest destiny" as one myth that shaped the American nation. There are many others.

Believe in Noah if you like or just enjoy the story for what it is-- a beautitful piece of literature and one of the most enduring stories ever known to human beings.

Answer 4

When the Ark was built, God also told Noah to bring enough food for all the living creatures on the Arch. Do you actually not know that Noah would be prepared to survive for many , many days ?? If he was such a skilled carpenter to build such a huge boat, what would make you think that he was lacking brains enough to feed his passengers, including the animals. How would you know what was up Noah's alley as you didn't even realize he had enough brains to feed the animals.

Answer 5

Genesis 1: 29, 30.

Every moving thing on the earth ate fruits, vegetables, and grains and grass until AFTER the flood, Genesis 9: 2, 3.

Answer 6

God temporarily caused the animals to get along and to live on the food that was brought along...

except for the chickens... and many other animals ate them... so today those animals that ate the chickens still taste like them!!! Hahahahahaaha!!! Just kidding!!!

Answer 7

The flesh-eating animals went into hybernation...
Noah called the animals and they came according to the direction of God.

Answer 8

why ask if u dont want to hear the truth?? scientist have found parts of the ark. he probably did take them food.refridgartion?? ever hear of beef jerky?? the native americans had since who know when..dehydration has been around for awhile..now i dont have to prove my faith to anyone whos not open to listen anyway

Answer 9

If he dried the meat he could preserve it during the trip and re-hydrate it when needed. Sort of like beef jerky.

Answer 10

it said that 2 of each animal was brought for breeding but others were brought for food. and people miss that part in the bible.

Answer 11

God can provide the food.