“Mutualism and symbiotic relationships are very difficult for the Theory of Evolution to explain. Clearly the termite could not have existed before the flagellate developed. And the flagellate could not have developed in the open air, away from the dark safety of the termite’s intestine. So how could either one have existed without the other?

Yet to claim that each evolved from some kind of animal, and evolved just in time to save each other’s life, is rather hard to accept. When existence itself requires that two creatures live in a specialized, complicated relationship, the Theory of Evolution seems less reasonable than ever.

The relationship between the termite and the tiny flagellate in its intestine is necessary if either is to survive. This amazing relationship, and the many mutual relationships between different living things, can hardly be explained as a result of chance mutations.

The termite could not live without the flagellate because it would be unable to digest the wood it eats and would starve to death. The flagellate, out of the intestine of the termite, would be poisoned by oxygen and die. Together, each lives. Separated, each will die!”

–     Dr Lawrence O. Richards (1989)