One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.

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

Language allows us to talk about the past and plan the future. We can teach children about things that are not present. And above all, we can bring people with different backgrounds and different knowledge together to discuss our problems. This actually gives me hope. I still think we are smart enough to not destroy planet Earth, our only home.

Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it we can destroy the only planet we have?

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.

From my perspective, I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments of sadness or fear. That's what I believe, and it was very, very strong in the forest.

I have found that to love and be loved is the most empowering and exhilarating of all human emotions.