I’m trying to find the name of a book I read back when I was a kid. I have no hint as to the author, and no hint as to the title, but I remember the stories distinctly. The book seemed fairly old when I read it back in the 70s.
The first story was about a little mammal who leaves the safety of the trees and tries to avoid the dangerous dinosaurs. Then he notices that the dinosaurs all seem to be dying of stupidity, so he goes back home and tells his mammal buddies that it’s time to leave the trees and go out into the open world.
Another was about the first carnivore. The mammals had been living peacefully together for a long time, then one of them turns up dead. And they hold a trial, and it turns out that Oxyaena has developed a taste for blood. They kick him out of herbivore society, but he’s tasted the forbidden fruit as it were, and will continue his carnivorous ways.
Another was about a early camel who was very lazy. He evolved to live in the desert where no one else lived so he wouldn’t have to compete with all the other mammals.
Another was about a tapir who lived in the primative swamps. He wanders around and lots of other mammals tell him about their new lives doing new things since they left the swamp. He’s almost persuaded by a pack of wild pigs to leave the swamp and evolve to be like them, but then they get in a fight with a sabertooth cat and the little tapir decides to stay exactly as he is and not evolve.
Another was about a baby mammoth who is born and grows up, but his herd dwindles in size and eventually he’s the last mammoth on earth. Then he dies.
And there were several other stories. They emphasized teleological evolution and working toward a goal. All the animals talked but weren’t otherwise anthorpomorphized.
Anyone else remember this book, or have any ideas for figuring out what it could have been?