Quote collection
283 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"I had never been able to believe that God would give us poor frail humans only one chance at making it -- that we would be assigned to some kind of hell because we failed during one experience of mortal life. ... So the concepts of karma and reincarnation made logical sense to me."
"I don't think anybody has the right to a huge family. There's already more people on the planet than our natural resources can even support, and if everybody were to have a high standard of living, we need three or four or five new planets to provide the resources. And this cannot be, so something has to change."
"Animals were my passion from even before I could speak apparently. When I was about 10, 11 I fell in love with Tarzan."
"Even chimps understand the concept - if a troop of chimps enters a fruit tree, they will only pick the fruits that are ripe and leave the others growing. That is sustainability."
"Chimps are unbelievably like us - in biological, non-verbal ways. They can be loving and compassionate and yet they have a dark side... 98 per cent of our DNA is the same. The difference is that we have developed language - we can teach about things that aren't there, plan for the future, discuss, share ideas"
"You cannot share your life with a dog, as I had done in Bournemouth, or a cat, and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings."
"Most Africans don't get to see these wild animals at all. Once they see and learn about them, they are much more likely to become involved in protecting the environment."
"Especially now when views are becoming more polarized, we must work to understand each other across political, religious and national boundaries."
"The least I can do is speak out for the hundreds of chimpanzees who, right now, sit hunched, miserable and without hope, staring out with dead eyes from their metal prisons. They cannot speak for themselves."
"It's not that humans and non-humans are identical... but the lack of understanding that led to the slave trade is the same lack of understanding many people have about animals today. When slaves were brought over from Africa, many people believed they were not humans, that they didn't have feelings. Many people believe that primates and other animals don't have feelings, too, but they do."
"Every stage of my life set the scene for the next, and at each point all I had to do was say "yes" and not think too much about the consequences."
"One cannot watch chimpanzee infants for long without realizing that they have the same emotional need for affection and reassurance as human children."
"I just have this absolute belief that humans are moving away from cruelty and destruction towards a time when we can truly live in harmony with nature. When we understand that there is a spiritual power around us from which we can draw strength. That is where I believe human destiny ultimately is taking us. I just hope we have time."
"Of course animals have a personality and emotions."
"The problem of the chimps is that they can only sit and look. They can't discuss what they feel. All that feeling is trapped within each one."
"Never be arrogant or abrasive. Treat your opponent respectfully if they really and truly believe they are right."
"Certainly, if you look at human behavior around the world, you have to admit that we can be very aggressive."
"I started as - well, I wanted to be Poet Laureate. And I wanted to be a naturalist. That's how I began. I didn't have any desire to go and be a scientist. Louis Leakey channeled me there. I'm delighted he did. I love science. I love analyzing and making sense of all these observations. So, it was the perfect rounding off of who I was into who I am."
"Lasting change is a series of compromises."
"Researchers find it very necessary to keep blinkers on. They don't want to admit that the animals they are working with have feelings."