The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own lives and our own ways, because we actually know much better how to do it then when you start interfering."
Jane GoodallRead
I got to Africa. I got the opportunity to go and learn, not about any animal, but chimpanzees. I was living in my dream world, the forest in Gombe National Park in Tanzania. It was Tanganyika when I began.
Interpretation
Jane Goodall reflects on her transformative experience studying chimpanzees in Tanzania.
In this quote, Jane Goodall shares her profound excitement and fulfillment in having the chance to study chimpanzees in their natural habitat. She expresses that being in Gombe National Park allowed her to engage deeply with her passion for wildlife and the environment, epitomizing the realization of her dreams and the beauty of nature.
In practice
In a speech at a wildlife conservation event, one could reference this quote to emphasize the importance of studying animals in their natural habitats.
The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own lives and our own ways, because we actually know much better how to do it then when you start interfering."
We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world's people, while bringing it down considerably for the 20% who are destroying our natural resources.
I was born in London in England in 1934. I went through, as a child, the horrors of World War II, through a time when food was rationed and we learned to be very careful, and we never had more to eat than what we needed to eat. There was no waste. Everything was used.
Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I would say that they have been in a way more successful than us as far as being in harmony with the environment.
There are an awful lot of scientists today who believe that before very long we shall have unraveled all the secrets of the universe. There will be no puzzles anymore. To me, it'd be really, really tragic because I think one of the most exciting things is this feeling of mystery, feeling of awe, the feeling of looking at a little live thing and being amazed by it and how it has emerged through these hundreds of years of evolution and there it is and it is perfect and why.
In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes.
I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exultation.
If mountain gorillas are to survive and propagate, far more active conservation measures urgently need to be undertaken. The question remains, is it already too late?
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.
As I grew up I was fervently desirous of becoming acquainted with Nature.
Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.
We need every person on Earth to acknowledge that climate change is real and encourage each other and our leaders to address the challenge.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.