15 of the best quotes from Sir David Attenborough

“You know, it’s a terrible thing to appear on television, because people think you actually know what you’re talking about.”

“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”

“The whole of life is coming to terms with yourself and the natural world. Why are you here? How do you fit in? What’s it all about?”

“Young people – they care. They know that this is the world that they’re going to grow up in, that they’re going to spend the rest of their lives in. But, I think it’s more idealistic than that. They actually believe that humanity, human species, has no right to destroy and despoil regardless.”

“There are some four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world. Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive.”

“If working apart we are a force powerful to destabilise our planet, surely working together we are powerful enough to save it… in my lifetime I’ve witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery.”

“When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity. Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true.”

“We only know a tiny proportion about the complexity of the natural world. Wherever you look, there are still things we don’t know about and don’t understand. There are always new things to find out if you go looking for them.”

“Many individuals are doing what they can. But real success can only come if there is a change in our societies and in our economics and in our politics.”

“The best motto to think about is not to waste things. Don’t waste electricity; don’t waste paper; don’t waste food. Live the way you want to live but just don’t waste. Look after the natural world and the animals in it and the plants in it too. This is their planet as well as ours. Don’t waste them.”

“The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water, and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.”

“The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?”

In my lifetime I’ve witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery

“Bringing nature into the classroom can kindle a fascination and passion for the diversity of life on earth and can motivate a sense of responsibility to safeguard it.”

“I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.”

“The final chapter is ours to write. We know what we need to do. What happens next is up to us.”

Main image: David Attenborough at the Great Barrier Reef. Credit: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade