Jane Goodall Chimp Quotes & Sayings

On the day-long follows that I used to do with mothers and their offspring - these chimp families that I knew so well - there was hardly a day when I didn't learn something new about them. — Jane Goodall

One of my best days was when I ... offered [chimp David Greybeard] fruit on my outstretched hand, and he turned his head away. I put my hand closer - and he took the fruit, dropped it, and gently squeezed my hand, which is a chimp reassurance gesture ... We communicated perfectly in a language that predates words. — Jane Goodall

There are certain characteristics that define a good chimp mother. She is patient, she is protective but she is not over-protective - that is really important. She is tolerant, but she can impose discipline. She is affectionate. She plays. And the most important of all: she is supportive. — Jane Goodall

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

Sometimes I [longed to be a chimp] ... I just wanted to know ... what it felt like in the evening to be making a nest and what it felt like to be a female when a big male comes thundering in. — Jane Goodall

When you meet chimps you meet individual personalities. When a baby chimp looks at you it's just like a human baby. We have a responsibility to them. — Jane Goodall

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

The first time I saw adult chimpanzees in these five-by-five foot cages ... tears began to trickle down under my mask, and [JoJo, a chimp,] just reached out this gentle finger and wiped them away ... And then the veterinarian came. He knelt down beside me and put his arm around me. He said, I have to face this every day. — Jane Goodall

Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we could do - like tool-making and abstraction and generalisation. They can learn a language - sign language - and they can use the signs. But when you think of our intellects, even the brightest chimp looks like a very small child. — Jane Goodall