Jane Goodall — "It is our responsibility to protect the planet and all the species that live on …"
It is our responsibility to protect the planet and all the species that live on it.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Jane Goodall
"My work is my passion, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"I believe that we can change the world, one individual at a time."
"My dream is a world where humans and animals can coexist in harmony."
"Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved."
"We can't save the world if we don't save the animals."
About Jane Goodall (born 1934)
British primatologist who in 1960 began the longest-running wild primate study at Gombe Stream, transforming our understanding of chimpanzees. Closely associated with Dian Fossey (mountain-gorilla researcher) and Birutė Galdikas (orangutan researcher; together with Goodall and Fossey one of Louis Leakey's 'Trimates'). For an intellectual contrast, see Walter Palmer, American dentist who killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe in 2015 — Palmer represents the trophy-hunting tradition Goodall's life's work has been organized against — the colonial-era hunter-naturalist worldview that treated primates and big game as specimens or trophies, which Goodall's Roots & Shoots and Jane Goodall Institute exist specifically to displace.
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
Every person bears an obligation to safeguard Earth and every creature living here. This isn't optional charity but a duty we owe to nature itself. It demands active stewardship: preventing extinction, preserving habitats, and recognizing that human well-being is inseparable from the health of ecosystems and the survival of other species sharing our world.
Relevance to Jane Goodall
Goodall spent decades in Tanzania's Gombe Stream studying chimpanzees, witnessing firsthand how human encroachment destroyed habitat and drove species toward extinction. Founding the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots program, she transformed from field scientist into global conservation advocate, dedicating her life to proving that individual action and collective responsibility can reverse environmental destruction.
The era
Goodall's career spans the postwar conservation awakening through today's climate crisis. She emerged alongside Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), watched deforestation accelerate through the 1980s-90s, and now operates amid unprecedented biodiversity collapse with one million species threatened. Her message grew increasingly urgent as industrial development outpaced protection efforts globally.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].