# How many species can fit in Noah's ark? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 23, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834 "2003-11-23T14:14:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xvxdarkknightxvx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/34f0e0/32.png) [@xvxdarkknightxvx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xvxdarkknightxvx)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/21 "2003-11-24T07:46:47Z")
Where does it say that Noah had to “collect” them? All I see is God saying for Noah to “bring” them with him. I see this more as God gathering all the necessary animals together and Noah letting them on the boat. ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Nickel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@Doc\_Nickel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Nickel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/22 "2003-11-24T08:04:59Z")
> [@](#): > > **Where does it say that Noah had to “collect” them? All I see is God saying for Noah to “bring” them with him. I see this more as God gathering all the necessary animals together and Noah letting them on the boat.** -He would have had to. How else could Pandas have made it all the way from China, Koalas and wallabies from Australia, Polar bears from the arctic and pengins from the antractic? Which, of course, raises the question that, if God magicked those animals over to the ark to be saved… why didn’t He just somehow magically save them directly? ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/23 "2003-11-24T09:49:45Z")
I had always imagined the ark to be a bit like the tardis - bigger on the inside than the outside. As god can make the universe in six days, a bit of dimensional twisting isn’t much to ask for ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/24 "2003-11-24T10:09:05Z")
A slight hijack but some of you might enjoy the first chapter of Julian Barnes’, “History of the World in 10 and a 1/2 Chapters” which opens with a retelling of a Flood Story from the viewpoint of one of those onboard. In this version the space problem is overcome by making clear that the “ark” was really a flotilla of craft all stuffed with animals some of which were lost at sea, hence explaning all those curious apparent gaps between animal genus; where there are lots of apparently unrelatable groups of sort of similar things with big gaps between them…the missing links were shipwrecked. And all the legendary animals also existed, although the Phoenix was denied a place aboard the wooden boat for obvious reasons. 😉 BTW I though a cubit was the distance between your finger tips and your elbow… ---
**Author:** ![Sergio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Sergio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sergio)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/25 "2003-11-24T13:31:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by notquitekarpov \* > \*\* > > BTW I though a cubit was the distance between your finger tips and your elbow… \*\* Cubit is the ancient name of one of the two bones of the forearm, now called **ulna**. So, a cubit must be the distance between your wrist and your elbow. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/26 "2003-11-24T13:38:45Z")
[More information than you could ever need](http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html) regarding Noah’s ark and the flood. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/27 "2003-11-24T14:21:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dalchini \* > \*\*If we take the Bible’s measurements of the ark, and say we could fit all the insect species in one room and we don’t have to worry about the sub-species or breeds of domesticated animals, how many can fit? \*\* The insect room alone would probably take up most of the space on the Ark. You do realize that there are a LOT of species of insects, right? Even if you stuff 'em all into a giant Zip-Loc bag and vacuum-seal it, that’s a pretty damn big bag. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/28 "2003-11-24T15:40:52Z")
peter morris: > [@](#): > > and two pairs of each unclean animal. I don’t know where you heard this from, but that’s incorrect. It means two specimens of each unclean animal, not two pairs. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/29 "2003-11-24T16:21:37Z")
One of the more amusing attempts to rationalize the Ark is _Noah’s Ark: A Feasibility Study_ by John Woodmarappe. The author goes to great lengths to try to show that all the species, as he defines them, could fit. For example, you don’t need all of the Anatidae (ducks, geese, mergansers, swans, etc.). A single representative pair will do because all of the others can be produced by them with “modifications.” How this differs from the origin of different species from a common ancestor isn’t explained. He also leaves out the insects claiming that they can survive the flood on the giant “vegetation mats” that were invented by the authors of _Scientific Creationism_ in their flood description. After a lot of thrashing around with food supply, waste disposal and other nonsense, the author finally caps the whole thing by saying that the only thing left is to figure out how much help God was prepared to give the Ark. That ranged from “minimal” to “crucial” in Woodmarappe’s analysis. That left me with the question - if God was prepared to rescue Noah _in extremis_ they who cares about the logistics? God will provide. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/30 "2003-11-24T22:16:06Z")
I think the spirit of the OP is: No way a single vessel could have held a sampling of every species of animal on earth! Its time for Homo Sapiens to grow up! Professional wrestling ain’t real, … ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/31 "2003-11-24T22:58:35Z")
Is there a factual answer to the OP? How much room do you allow for various animals? It seems to me that even if it was only one pair of each species, the overcrowding would make a factory farm look like it had the population desity of Siberia. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/32 "2003-11-24T23:17:53Z")
> [@](#): > > BTW I though a cubit was the distance between your finger tips and your elbow… It is. The anatomical use as a name for the bone is not the same thing as the measurement, which is as described above. AHD says: > [@](#): > > An ancient unit of linear measure, originally equal to the length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, or about 17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 centimeters). Some dictionaries list the anatomical definition for the forearm bone as well. ---
**Author:** ![SeekingTruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@SeekingTruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeekingTruth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/33 "2003-11-24T23:27:07Z")
I always wondered why he didn’t swat the damn mosquitos ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/34 "2003-11-24T23:38:11Z")
> [@](#): > > yabob’s cubit conversions give us 1518750 cubic feet. That would be if the ark was a rectangular solid, with all the space available for use. You may take that as an upper bound. If you assume it is, well, boat shaped, we’re talking much less than that, even if the ark was a broad-in-the-beam tub. Somebody more familiar with naval architecture might make a more precise guess as to the probable cargo space and displacement. ---
**Author:** ![hyjyljyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hyjyljyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyjyljyj)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/35 "2003-11-25T15:28:37Z")
Somebody mentioned dinosaurs. Are we being expected to believe that all the unfathomably massive, violent, flesh-eating dinosaurs were on this boat too, and just magically behaved themselves for six weeks? What a bout the urine stench? And the methane? And think of their poop! How big a boat would be needed just to house the brontosaurs and the other ones that were even larger? At some point you just have to go, “OK, OK, somebody made it all up. Dang! What OTHER parts did they just fabricate?” ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/36 "2003-11-25T16:38:10Z")
Surely, God works in mysterious ways. :rolleyes: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/37 "2003-11-25T17:16:25Z")
I’m pretty sure it’s more than six weeks – IIRC, it only _rained_ for 40 days and 40 nights. The actual ark voyage was more like 7 months or 10 months or something along those lines (I’m too lazy to actually look it up right now). ---
**Author:** ![skidoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@skidoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skidoo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/38 "2003-11-25T18:07:05Z")
A previous post (and the quoted scripture) suggested that the numbers given in Genesis 7:2 are seven pairs and one pair. But The King James Bible reads: > [@](#): > > Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean **by two, the male and his female**. That clearly reads seven pairs and two pairs. Which is the correct translation? ---
**Author:** ![zub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a6a055/32.png) [@zub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zub)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/39 "2003-11-25T18:10:15Z")
What about termites? ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834/40 "2003-11-25T18:21:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peter morris \* > \*\*Personally, I’ve always wondered how he managed to collect the kangaroos. \*\* He didn’t have to; they just hopped a ride. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-species-can-fit-in-noahs-ark/214834.md?page=3)