I started as - well, I wanted to be Poet Laureate. And I wanted to be a naturalist. That's how I began. I didn't have any desire to go and be a scientist. Louis Leakey channeled me there. I'm delighted he did. I love science. I love analyzing and making sense of all these observations. So, it was the perfect rounding off of who I was into who I am.

Science demands objective factual evidence - proof; spiritual experience is subjective and leads to faith.

Chimpanzees can be quite political.

The greatest danger to our future is apathy.

I don't think that faith, whatever you're being faithful about, really can be scientifically explained. And I don't want to explain this whole life business through truth, science. There's so much mystery. There's so much awe.

Chimps are far too much human to be my favorite animal.

We could change the world tomorrow if all the millions of people around the world acted the way they believe.