---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a drought strikes them, animals…"
description: "\"If a drought strikes them, animals perish--man builds irrigation canals; if a flood strikes them, animals perish--man builds dams; if a carnivorous pac..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/ayn-rand-59_animal_if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish_2900490.jpg"
---

#  If a drought strikes them, animals perish--man builds…

![“If a drought strikes them, animals perish--man builds irrigation canals; if a flood strikes them, animals perish--man builds dams; if a carnivorous pack attacks them, animals perish--man writes the Constitution of the United States.” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/ayn-rand-59_animal_if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish_2900490.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/ayn-rand-59_animal_if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish_2900490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/ayn-rand-59_animal_if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish_2900490.jpg)

> “If a drought strikes them, animals perish--man builds irrigation canals; if a flood strikes them, animals perish--man builds dams; if a carnivorous pack attacks them, animals perish--man writes the Constitution of the United States.”

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human ingenuity creates solutions—irrigation, dams, constitutions—to protect animals and society from natural threats.

**In simple terms:** Human inventions solve natural problems.

Key Takeaway

Innovate to overcome challenges.

Themes

innovation survival law

Mood

analytical optimistic

Type

philosophical practical

When to use this quote

- environmental policy
- civil engineering
- government

Key Concepts

political philosophy engineering

Questions to Reflect On

- What modern solutions address today’s crises?
- How do laws shape societal resilience?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Canals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canals/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution of the united states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-of-the-united-states/) [Drought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drought/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Irrigation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrigation/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [It doesn't really matter what one writes into a constitution. The important thing is what the collective instinct eventually makes of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/it-doesn-t-really-matter-what-one-writes-into-a-constitution-the/)

[Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/)

> [ Irrigation, unscientifically conducted, would not give us such truly wonderful mathematical fitness \[as we observe in the Martian canals\]. . . . A mind… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-lowell/irrigation-unscientifically-conducted-would-not-give-us-such-truly/)

[Percival Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-lowell/)

> [Some of the environmental lobbyists of the Western nations are the salt of the earth, but many of them are elitists. They've never experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/some-of-the-environmental-lobbyists-of-the-western-nations-are-the/)

[Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/)

> [Knowledge has always been important, of course. The ancient Egyptians did not raise the stones for the pyramids relying on the incantations of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/knowledge-has-always-been-important-of-course-the-ancient-egyptians/)

[Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/)

> [Equally important is the lack of cultivable land for farmers, a profound problem when you take into account that Afghanistan has always largely been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/equally-important-is-the-lack-of-cultivable-land-for-farmers-a/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [We take for granted the slow miracle whereby water in the irrigation of a vineyard becomes wine. It is only when Christ turns water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/we-take-for-granted-the-slow-miracle-whereby-water-in-the-irrigation/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Our fish, our recreation, our irrigation and all our uses of the Missouri River are threatened if the drought continues and the Corps of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rounds/our-fish-our-recreation-our-irrigation-and-all-our-uses-of-the/)

[Mike Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rounds/)

> [Globally, the highest number of irrigation projects are in India, and within the country, the highest number is in Maharashtra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/globally-the-highest-number-of-irrigation-projects-are-in-india-and/)

[Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/)

> [More than one-half of the world's major rivers are being seriously depleted and polluted, degrading and poisoning the surrounding ecosystems, thus threatening the health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-serageldin/more-than-one-half-of-the-world-s-major-rivers-are-being-seriously/)

[Ismail Serageldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-serageldin/)

> [Agriculture looks different today - our farmers are using GPS and you can monitor your irrigation systems over the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/agriculture-looks-different-today-our-farmers-are-using-gps-and-you/)

[Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/)

> [Surrounded by a burgeoning human population, Asian elephants have to contend with the spread of settlements and farming, and the demands of rapidly developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shand/surrounded-by-a-burgeoning-human-population-asian-elephants-have-to/)

[Mark Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shand/)

> [“Too many people talk about the weather, and not enough people talk about agriculture. When somebody says to me, "Beautiful weather we're having,” I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/too-many-people-talk-about-the-weather-and-not-enough-people-talk/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [Writing novels is the hardest thing I've ever done, including digging irrigation ditches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/writing-novels-is-the-hardest-thing-i-ve-ever-done-including-digging/)

[Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/)

> [It is one thing to say with the prophet Amos, "Let justice roll down like mighty waters," and quite another to work out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/it-is-one-thing-to-say-with-the-prophet-amos-let-justice-roll-down/)

[William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/)

> [I know how to set an irrigation tube, and I helped with the harvest. I learned the law of the harvest without even knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/i-know-how-to-set-an-irrigation-tube-and-i-helped-with-the-harvest-i/)

[Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/)

## More by Ayn Rand

> [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

[Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

Mak\_786

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/)

[Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If a drought strikes them, animals perish--man builds irrigation canals; if a flood strikes them, animals perish--man builds dams; if a carnivorous pack attacks them, animals perish--man writes the Constitution of the United States.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ayn Rand"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish-man-builds-irrigation-canals/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish-man-builds-irrigation-canals/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/ayn-rand-59_animal_if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish_2900490.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/ayn-rand-59_animal_if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish_2900490.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/ayn-rand-59_animal_if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish_2900490.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If a drought strikes them, animals perish--man builds irrigation canals; if a flood strikes them, animals…” — Ayn Rand",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ayn Rand",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If a drought strikes them, animals...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish-man-builds-irrigation-canals/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-a-drought-strikes-them-animals-perish-man-builds-irrigation-canals/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
