Thoughts on Wilderness

Published: Apr 1, 2017 07:02:32 AM IST
Updated: Mar 30, 2017 06:10:45 PM IST


I don’t understand why when we destroy something created by man we call it vandalism, but when we destroy something created by nature we call it progress.
—Ed Begley Jr

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
—John Muir

Wild animals are less wild and more human than many humans of this world.
—Munia Khan


The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.
—Desmond Morris

Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.
 —Steve Irwin

The only good cage is an empty cage.
—Lawrence Anthony





What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.
—Mahatma Gandhi

The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.
— Edward Abbey

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.
—Gary Snyder


Basically, I believe the world is a jungle, and if it’s not a bit of a jungle in the home, a child cannot possibly be fit to enter the outside world.
 —Bette Davis

We are living on the planet as if we have another one to go to.
—Terry Swearingen

Images: Rudyard, Gandhi: Getty Images; Begley: Steve Marcus / Reuters; Desmond: Donald Maclellan / Getty Images; Steve: Fred Prouser / Reuters; Bette: Reuters

(This story appears in the 14 April, 2017 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)