Question: Why did animals have to die in the great flood?

And yet, in the Flood story the Lord had regret... But it is written as if it really happened. Was Noah a real person or was he a fictional character in a metaphor? How's that work though? In the comprehensive story of the Old Testament, where does the metaphor end and where does the real world begin?I don't see how you can isolate the Flood as a metaphor and not have it as part of a larger story that was taken to be real.

Looking for evidence to support your a priori beliefs is not a path to truth. Confirmation bias will lead you astray.Instead of looking for things that you'd expect to see if there was the Flood, you should look for ways to falsify that the Flood occurred and see where they lead you. If you are unable to falsify it, then you can be more confident that it did happen. Just looking for things that fit the narrative shouldn't get you there.We know without a doubt that the planet has not been covered in water since humans have been here. The lack of a genetic bottleneck proves this.No matter how much things look like they might have been caused by the Flood, we already know that it literally never happened as described in the Bible. If it stemmed from an actual event, it would have to have been a local flood rather than a global one.That is not me being a history denier nor a naysayer, that is me being a realistic Christian.