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

The best relationship you can have with a chimpanzee is total mutual trust.

People say to me so often, 'Jane how can you be so peaceful when everywhere around you people want books signed, people are asking these questions and yet you seem peaceful,' and I always answer that it is the peace of the forest that I carry inside.

We have to create more and more vegetarians, and help people to understand that it is not only the suffering of the animals (which is what made me vegetarian) but also the incredible harm to the environment, the tremendous amount of greenhouse gas created by the whole vast machinery of intensive animal farming.

We have turned away from the natural world. Instead, it's all about money and power.

Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right.

Chimps are brutal, and it is so deliberate. The males go out and get near the boundary of their territory. And they walk very silently trying hard not to make any noise. They will climb into a tree and stare out over hostile territory for hours. They are waiting for the right opportunity. And then they attack.