E. O. Wilson Quotes

Gary Cooper was a good friend. He was a great nature lover. He was like an American Indian, he knew every leaf that was turned over. It was an education to go for a walk with him.

I spent my childhood in northern New York State, and like many kids, bugs and other critters fascinated me.

I remember being fascinated by ants and wasps and other bugs when I was a kid. I'd set out a Coke can and stand back 20 feet and use my telescope to watch wasps land on it.

I certainly wasn't the kind of kid that grew up collecting bugs and spiders.

I never wanted to be a scientist per se. I wanted to be a naturalist.

In my youth, I spent my time investigating insects.

I started out wanting to be a naturalist. My obsession in my youth was with bird-watching. I collected things, I spent a lot of time outdoors. I only vaguely realized that science was a little more than natural history, but by then I was hooked.

Study nature, not books.

I liked natural history. I liked the outdoors. And I found the sea quite interesting.

I am quite an animal and nature lover.

The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity which has far-reaching effects in every aspect of a person's life. It ultimately makes people protective of the environment in a very committed way. It is my opinion that the study of natural history should be the primary avenue for creating environmentalists.

I'm not an extreme tree-hugger. I do believe trees grow and are a useful agricultural product that can be harvested without damaging the ecology and wildlife.

I'm a big believer in our connection to nature.

As I grew up I was fervently desirous of becoming acquainted with Nature.

I love nature.

Most Africans don't get to see these wild animals at all. Once they see and learn about them, they are much more likely to become involved in protecting the environment.

The man who interprets Nature is always held in great honor.

I weren't an actor, I'd be a wildlife biologist or forest ranger.

Because I'm a walker, natural history is my subject; I've always been obsessed with landscape, and I have an elegiac tone in most of my books.

Perhaps arising from a fascination with animals, biology seemed the most interesting of sciences to me as a child.

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.

A tree you pass by every day is just a tree. If you are to closely examine what a tree has and the life a tree has, even the smallest thing can withstand a curiosity, and you can examine whole worlds.

I'm a nature bug.

Everyone says I should write a natural history or landscape book because if I have an area of amateur expertise, it is in those things.

Discovering new species is a passion. A day without collecting plants is painful for me.