Letter 5: The Animals Appear (In English) | Letters From a Father to His Daughter

 

In this letter, Jawaharlal Nehru explains the evolution of animals and how they adapted to their surroundings over time. He begins by describing the early life forms on Earth, which were simple sea animals like jellyfish. These animals needed water to survive and could not live on dry land. Over time, those with tougher skins were able to survive longer outside water, leading to the gradual disappearance of softer animals. This process of adaptation allowed animals to evolve in ways that helped them survive in different environments.

Nehru discusses how animals change their characteristics, like color and fur, to blend with their surroundings or to survive in cold climates. He provides examples such as birds turning white in icy regions and tigers being camouflaged by their striped, yellow coats in the jungle.

As Earth cooled and dried up, animals evolved further. He explains that the first animals lived in water, then some adapted to live on both land and water, like frogs and crocodiles. Eventually, land animals and birds appeared. Nehru highlights how a frog's life cycle mirrors the transition from water animals to land animals, as it starts as a fish-like creature and later breathes with lungs.


He also mentions that ancient forests turned into coal over time and describes the massive reptiles and lizards that lived during those periods, some as long as 100 feet. Nehru concludes by discussing mammals, the group that includes humans, noting that early mammals were much larger than today's animals. He reflects on the theory that humans evolved from apes, emphasizing that while we consider ourselves different from animals, we share a common ancestry with them.