You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That's what natural history programmes should be for.

It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for - the whole thing - rather than just one or two stars.

I suffer much less than many of my colleagues. I am perfectly able to go to Australia and film within three hours of arrival.

You can cry about death and very properly so, your own as well as anybody else's. But it's inevitable, so you'd better grapple with it and cope and be aware that not only is it inevitable, but it has always been inevitable, if you see what I mean.

I'm not over-fond of animals. I am merely astounded by them.

The most extraordinary thing about trying to piece together the missing links in the evolutionary story is that when you do find a missing link and put it in the story, you suddenly need all these other missing links to connect to the new discovery. The gaps and questions actually increase - it's extraordinary.

Life is not all high emotion. Some of the most interesting things are when its not highly emotional: little details of relationships and body language.