I had been told from school onwards that the best definition of a human being was man the tool-maker - yet I had just watched a chimp tool-maker in action. I remember that day as vividly as if it was yesterday. Jane Goodall More Quotes by Jane Goodall More Quotes From Jane Goodall 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. Jane Goodall who-i-am perfect desire 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. Jane Goodall next too-much thinking Never be arrogant or abrasive. Treat your opponent respectfully if they really and truly believe they are right. Jane Goodall arrogant opponents believe 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. Jane Goodall cat dog animal Studying chimps, I came to the conclusion that being evil is something that only humans are capable of. A chimp would never plan to pull another's nails out. The chimps' way of aggression is quick and brutal. I compare them to gang attacks. Jane Goodall nails evil way The only possible way to get somebody to change is to reach into their hearts. Jane Goodall heart way As thy days, so shall thy strength be. Jane Goodall 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. Jane Goodall fruit growing tree The hardest part of returning to a truly healthy environment may be changing the current totally unsustainable heavy-meat-eating culture of increasing numbers of people around the world. But we must try. We must make a start, one by one. Jane Goodall meat-eating numbers people I don't even think of chimps as animals. I think of them as beings. Jane Goodall animal thinking Language allows us to talk about the past and plan the future. We can teach children about things that are not present. And above all, we can bring people with different backgrounds and different knowledge together to discuss our problems. This actually gives me hope. I still think we are smart enough to not destroy planet Earth, our only home. Jane Goodall smart home children My favorite animals are dogs. Jane Goodall my-favorite dog animal We, as humans, have actually developed a sense of social responsibility. We have gone beyond our basic instincts. We can and we do. This is what sets us apart from the chimps. They are extremely brutal and hostile. Your next door neighbor is to be killed unless she is a juicy young female, who hasn't yet had her first baby, in which case you want her. Jane Goodall responsibility doors baby The best relationship you can have with a chimpanzee is total mutual trust. Jane Goodall best-relationship chimpanzees mutual You better not mess with chimps. They are much stronger than humans. Jane Goodall mess stronger humans If you work hard and be persistent, you will achieve whatever you want to do. Jane Goodall achieve hard-work want I believe the only hope for mankind lies in the hands of our young people. Jane Goodall believe lying hands Without the support of local people, you might as well give up because you can make all the noise you like, you can demarcate a national park, but if the people outside want to go creeping into a forest you really can't stop them. They've got to get a benefit. Jane Goodall support giving-up people If you do microcredit with men, they tend to quickly drink it. They don't pay you back. Jane Goodall drink pay men It's not Africa that is destroying the African rainforest, it's selling concessions to timber companies that are not African, they are from the developed world - Japan, America, Germany, Britain. Jane Goodall germany japan america
