How do we benefit from the creation of wild animals?

St. Basil, in the ninth homily of his work on “The Six Days of Creation” (the Hexamaeron ), explains the following:

A human being is a heavenly creature, whose back is upright with a head that rests above it, able to easily look up to the heavens; unlike an animal, which is bent down, looking at the ground and its belly. Therefore, it is befitting for us to remember that we are citizens of heaven; our country is the exalted Jerusalem.

Animals have this in common: they do not possess reason and free will to guide their lives. Even so, it befits us to learn from some of them: for a deer is gentle; an ant is diligent and productive; a dog is thankful, faithful, and loyal in his friendship; and a horse is courageous in battle.

Some animals recognize changes in the weather; as spring approaches, they come to the doors of their dens, ready to go out.

A hedgehog often makes two holes at the ends of his burrow; if the wind blows from the north, he closes the northern hole and vice versa.

Animals care for their young or their immobilized parents; yet we sometimes see human families who fail to do this.