When the Almighty created nature, he gave a special quality to every species making it unique in its own. When one can see the unique quality and character of each, it a great wonder that many things with which man can make his life a better one are taught by animals and birds. They have been a great source of inspiration with the way they lead their life and mankind has made them a part of life to acquire knowledge imbibing them into our Puranas, Epics, Panchatantra tales and many more stories and folklore legends.
Ramayan is the eternal epic in which the important virtues and lessons of life are taught through the characters of animals. In his journey of life, he befriends not only his fellow humans, but also birds and animals too, thus making them a part of his life and imparting to the whole mankind life lessons through them.
Jatayu was a flesh eating bird, but that did not stop him from being a follower of Dharma. From Jatayu, one learns friendship, sacrifice and selflessness. Jatayu does not care about his own life when it comes to stand up for Shri Ram in the fight against evil. He fights till his last breath and imparts to mankind that the selfless sacrifice is the most difficult and the most priced virtue that one can possess.
Without the monkey army, there is no Ramayan. Shri Hanuman is the embodiment of knowledge. Yet, instead of taking pride in his attributes, he teaches us the virtue of humility. In spite of achieving impossible tasks without any flaw and ease, he offers all his accomplishments in the divine feet of Shri Ram. While we see humans boasting about small successes, Hanuman belonging to the monkey clan, taught to the world that humility begets worship.
Sugriv was the dearest friend of Shri Ram. He not only gives Shri Ram the much needed support of his Vanar army, but also stands with him in all times as a true friend. When Ravan tries to send him a message to support him instead of Shri Ram, Sugriv out rightly rejects the offer keeping up the value of friendship. The noble monkey king, Sugriv teaches the world the value of friendship.
Jambavan played the key role in being the intellectual one leading the army of Shri Ram through his wise counsel. He was the motivating factor behind Hanuman crossing the ocean and reaching Mata Sita. He gave timely advice to Shri Ram and his army in the tactics of war and kept them vigilant all times. A bear who lives in the wild jungle, becomes the representation of intelligence and wisdom and gives much needed inspiration for humans to follow.
When the intention is pure, size does not matter. A small squirrel in Ramayan teaches us the same value when with its little body it rolls itself in the sand and tries to fill the gaps of the mighty Ram Setu. The squirrel teaches that will power is the biggest strength for a task to be accomplished.
While Man fights with his own conflicting nature of good and bad, the animals and birds teach humanity that virtues are the same for all creation and they are better followers of the same than mankind. If one can understand the great deeds of animals through the Ramayan, then one is definitely bound to respect all creation for their uniqueness.