Evan Esar Quotes

I'm in the middle of my sixth book, which is about animals at the Los Angeles Zoo.

I always wanted to be a zoologist. I'm fascinated with animals. I wanted to be a zookeeper.

The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the more you want to avoid people.

Animals interest me more than anything else.

I'm going to be doing exactly what I'm doing now - teaching people about animals.

The fact that the apes exist and that we can study them is extremely important and makes us reflect on ourselves and our human nature. In that sense alone, you need to protect the apes.

Marlon was more of a formal zoo director type.

Being a comedy writer gives you permission to be an outsider and poke fun at what people think about other people.

I think we have a real obligation when we do have animals in captivity to understand their needs and to care for them as well as we can.

All zoos are both beguiling and repellent.

What's the reality of being inside a zoo, for the animals and for the people who love and care for those animals? There's a lot of joy, and there's a lot of loss.

Whenever you observe an animal closely, you feel as if a human being sitting inside were making fun of you.

My work is not so much a direct commentary as it is an open-ended observation of the absurdities around us.

I've had a love of animals from birth. I love getting to know other species. We should all be aware that there is not one thing we can give a wild animal in captivity that they need.

We literally live right in the middle of the zoo, and it means that every day is a new experience and so much fun.

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.

Zoology has always been interesting to me. Nature is fascinating.

I like animals. I like natural history. The travel bit is not the important bit. The travel bit is what you have to do in order to go and look at animals.

I just can't remember a time when I wasn't involved with animals and wildlife.

As satirists, we get to stand on the sidelines of life and comment on what's happening.

There was no way that I could explain to dogs, friends, or parents my compelling need to return to Africa to launch a long-term study of the gorillas.

Comedy is a reaction to the world, and I think it really helps to be an outsider. I've always been very interested in people's behavior, to the point of being obsessed - seeing what people needed and reading them, I think that's the backbone of comedy.

More than just a zoo, the Animal Kingdom is an extraordinary experience of animals, rides and performances. The exhibits have the scale and creativity you associate with Disney. The African safari ride is terrific and worth riding several times.

I see the absurdity in things, and I think it's my job to point it out.

Bindi's been filming with us since she first hatched.