The Animal Creation

Wild and domesticate animals from the four continents gather here peacefally near a watering hole. In the foreground an elephant and a giraffe at right, and a leopard and a stag at left flank a lion with a sheep resting its foreleg across the lion's paw. Behind at right are a hyena and a donkey, then a zebra, moose, horse, antelope, fox and camels. At left we also find an armidillo, wolf, kangaroo and American buffalo, then a tiger, boar, bear, tapir and monkeys. In the center before the lake are a mouse, goat and rabbits. Beyond the lake are a crocodile, water buffalo and warthog, and various kinds of birds, including a peacock, ostrich, turkey and eagle. Animals from all parts of the earth are included in this scene which echoes Isaiah 11.6, a prophetic vision of a messianic time of peace when: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together." Artistic responses to this verse traditionally pair a lion with a lamb.