Frans de Waal Quotes

Cats aren't cooperative in the same way that other animals are. You can train a dog to act, but you can't train a cat in the same way.

A cat is more intelligent than people believe, and can be taught any crime.

A lot of cats are not that social.

Dolphins are social mammals, capable of enjoying their lives. They form close bonds with other members of their group.

Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.

No matter what hyenas sound like, they are not actually laughing.

We're highly social animals - I'm told by scientists that what makes us different from other animals is an acute social awareness, which is what has made us so successful.

Turkeys know their names, come when you call, and are totally affectionate. They're better than teenagers.

When I see a dolphin, I know it's just as smart as I am.

I can't speak American dog very well. There was a lot of improvisation with Uggie - like when I put the dog on the table or sometimes I follow him, sometimes he follows me. I had a lot of treats in my pocket. We worked with Omar Von Muller, the dog trainer. It was very easy because it was a big movie.

Working with animals is always going to be tough because the animal doesn't know it's an actor.

Chimpanzees have very strong preferences and aversions that are completely personality-linked. The people who are unsuccessful in working with chimpanzees are those who take this personally.

It was actually quite easy to work with Uggie, because he's a really well trained dog. Very talented. I just had to follow him a little bit, improvise a little bit. Sometimes he'd follow me. Especially because of the sausages I had in my pocket.

You know, if you have a zoo you don't want the other creatures to see you. You want them to hang out and act properly and, you know, when the monkeys will come and ask for the bananas, they won't act like monkeys. If you want them to act on what their true nature is, you've got to leave them alone.

I was perhaps about 10 years old when a local farmer rang us up to say he had found a young badger and would we take it in. So we did; it was a female called Bessy and she lived in the boiler room. She was extremely intelligent, had a very low opinion of cats but loved the dogs. She was pretty well trained; she went in the car.

What's so funny about cats is that they have this kind of aloof, superior vibe to them. Even if you love them, they are unpredictable. Dogs are more social, and the way that they attach and bond to us is much more human.

Bart The Bear was fantastic to work with. Absolutely brilliant and so, so good. The things that that bear could do to order! He was one of the best actors I've ever worked with.

I grew up with such an affinity to cats. I adore the way that they think and operate.

I'm impressed with how professional they are and what they can get an animal to do. I mean, dogs and cats - that's one thing. But when you get into the larger animals, that's a different thing all together.

If a dog jumps into your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer.

Oh, the cat I worked with on 'Game of Thrones' was so badly behaved! It would never do anything it was supposed to do. I was like, 'Get your game together, cat. You're so bad.'

You can't train a penguin to act. You kind of have to take what you get.

The reason that fish form schools, birds form flocks, and bees form swarms is that they are smarter together than they would be apart. They don't take a vote; they don't take a poll: they form a system. They are all interactive and make a decision together in real time.

Based on my experience, it's considerably difficult to force a donkey into doing something it perceives to be dangerous for whatever reason.

When a man tries to communicate with an animal, there's a relationship between them, and you generally find this between the dog and his master.