Why the Animals Drowned in Noah's Flood for Corrupting Their Way

(Genesis 9:18:) "And the sons of Noah <who went forth from the ark> were <Shem, Ham, and Japheth>." [Let our master teach us: who is commanded concerning being fruitful and multiplying, the man or the woman? Thus] our Rabbis taught: The man is commanded concerning being fruitful and multiplying, but not the woman. Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroqah says: Concerning both of them it says (Genesis 1:28), "And God blessed them, [and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply]." Rather, the man is commanded more than the woman. Know for yourself that this is so, for Abraham exerted himself greatly to take a wife for his son Isaac, as it says (Genesis 24:2), "And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, etc.," "and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, [etc.,] that [you go] to my land, etc." (Genesis 24:3). So Abraham exerted himself concerning being fruitful and multiplying. And likewise Isaac sent Jacob, as it is said (Genesis 28:2), "Arise, go to Paddan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel." He sent him to take a wife fitting for him — not like the men of the generation of the flood, who were steeped in lewdness, who went after one who was not fitting for them. See what is written (Genesis 6:2), "And the sons of God saw, etc." The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Since they act thus, let them perish from the world for their own sake. And why was the beast destroyed with them? As it is said (Genesis 7:23), "from man unto beast" — because the beast too corrupted its deeds, and was going after a species that was not its own: the horse upon the donkey, the lion upon the ox, the serpent upon the tortoise. As it is said (Genesis 6:12), "And God saw the earth, and behold it was corrupt, [for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth]." It does not say "every man," but rather "all flesh" — even the beast, the wild animal, and the bird. Therefore they were blotted out with them. Rabbi Pinchas the Priest bar Chama said: Just as none entered the ark except the righteous, so too the beast, the wild animal, and the bird that were with them were righteous, as it is said (Genesis 8:19), "by their families." And does a beast have a family? Rather, that beast which had not joined itself to another species entered the ark; therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them a lineage. And if a beast, a wild animal, and a bird, which are nothing, were given a lineage, is it not right that Noah and his sons be given a lineage? Immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them a lineage [from what we have read] on the matter: "And the sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were, etc." (Genesis 9:18).