I've always felt that if I examine myself too much, I'll find out what I know and don't know, and I'll burst the bubble. I've gotten so lucky relying on my animal instincts, I'd rather keep a little bit of the animal alive.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I just think I'm better equipped to make a study of human personality than trying to get into the mind of animals.
Animals interest me more than anything else.
Hunters and trackers learn not only to understand intellectually a bunch of facts about the animal they follow, but to feel their way into the very being of the animal.
There has been so much underestimating of animal cognition that to perhaps overestimate it, as I probably do, is probably a healthy reaction.
I approach my character with the question: What would an animal think? How would an animal respond? A lot of times, it's quick action and no fear, and sometimes it's irrational fear. You don't always know.
All our knowledge merely helps us to die a more painful death than animals that know nothing.
You don't know what mental telepathy exists from the human to the animal.
Animals need to understand other species, if only to prey on them or escape from them.
Life histories tell you just about everything you need to know about an animal.
We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.