Jane Goodall Quotes

I'm always pushing for human responsibility. Given that chimpanzees and many other animals are sentient and sapient, then we should treat them with respect.

Chimps are far too much human to be my favorite animal.

Children can change the world.

That's what keeps me going. Everywhere I go there are young people with shining eyes wanting to tell me, "Dr. Jane, we're going to make the world a better place."

Especially females and the younger ones like to be with somebody who is wise.

I still think we are smart enough to not destroy planet Earth, our only home.

You may not believe in evolution, and that is all right. How we humans came to be the way we are is far less important than how we should act now to get out of the mess we have made for ourselves.

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.

Animals were my passion from even before I could speak apparently. When I was about 10, 11 I fell in love with Tarzan.

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.

Become as knowledgeable as possible.

Especially now when views are becoming more polarized, we must work to understand each other across political, religious and national boundaries.

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.

One cannot watch chimpanzee infants for long without realizing that they have the same emotional need for affection and reassurance as human children.

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.

Certainly, if you look at human behavior around the world, you have to admit that we can be very aggressive.

Never be arrogant or abrasive. Treat your opponent respectfully if they really and truly believe they are right.

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.

Of course animals have a personality and emotions.

Primates are very territorial. It is in their nature to protect their food resources as well as their females and young.

Researchers find it very necessary to keep blinkers on. They don't want to admit that the animals they are working with have feelings.

Lasting change is a series of compromises.

I learnt from Flo how to be mother. Flo was patient, tolerant. She was supportive. She was always there. She was playful. She enjoyed having her babies, as good mothers do.

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.

We learn the social norms of our society and modify our behaviour accordingly.

I think we're still in a muddle with our language, because once you get words and a spoken language it gets harder to communicate.

Words can be said in bitterness and anger, and often there seems to be an element of truth in the nastiness. And words don't go away, they just echo around.

The only possible way to get somebody to change is to reach into their hearts.

There isn't a sharp line dividing humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. All the time, we find animals doing things that, in our arrogance, we thought were just human.

It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of primitive human warfare.

If a chimp who has been abused horribly by humans can help a human friend in a time of need, how much more should we help the animals - and other people for that matter - in their time of need?

It's the bond between mother and child, which is really for us and for chimps and other primates, the root of all the expressions of social behavior.

I believe sharing stories and experiences is the best way to teach people to empathize!

Of course we're all programmed genetically to some extent. But the "selfish gene" thesis doesn't explain everything.

Well, in some ways we're not successful at all. We're destroying our home. That's not a bit successful.

Chimps act the way they feel unless they are afraid of reprisal if they do so. But that doesn't apply to humans.

I've learned that if you want people to join in any kind of conservation effort, you have to help them to care with their hearts, not just their heads.

I think the most important thing to do is to be willing to listen, willing to care, and willing to admit mistakes and change your ways for the better!

There is a lot of corruption all over the world and not only when it comes to illegal wildlife trade! There are a few ways to ensure this stops: If there are no customers, there will be no trade.

My hope for the future is that we learn wisdom again.

every individual can make a difference ... if we continue to leave decision making to the so-called decision makers, things will never change.

You have to realise that touching is a real violation of personal space.

We, as humans, have actually developed a sense of social responsibility. We have gone beyond our basic instincts.

Every single day, we could be in a motorcar accident, so, we have to carry on with our lives, and not imagine terror around every corner.

Be assured that our individual actions, collectively, make a huge difference.

If you work hard and be persistent, you will achieve whatever you want to do.

The awful thing is we don't respect each other.

Being evil is something that only humans are capable of.

I want to change awareness.

The refugees flee to protect their families from violence; the Europeans, on the other hand, fear for their jobs that they need to feed their families.