--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are animals we haven't stopped by…" description: "\"There are animals we haven't stopped by. Don't think they're harmless. Life will defend itself no matter how small it is.\" — Yann Martel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/yann-martel-395_animal_there-are-animals-we-haven-t-stopped-by_2723005.jpg" --- # There are animals we haven't stopped by. Don't think… ![“There are animals we haven't stopped by. Don't think they're harmless. Life will defend itself no matter how small it is.” quote by Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/yann-martel-395_animal_there-are-animals-we-haven-t-stopped-by_2723005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/yann-martel-395_animal_there-are-animals-we-haven-t-stopped-by_2723005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/yann-martel-395_animal_there-are-animals-we-haven-t-stopped-by_2723005.jpg) > “There are animals we haven't stopped by. Don't think they're harmless. Life will defend itself no matter how small it is.” [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life, regardless of size, will protect itself; underestimate it at your peril. **In simple terms:** Even tiny beings can be fiercely protective. Key Takeaway Respect all forms of life. Themes nature survival humility Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - wildlife encounters - environmental policy - personal safety Key Concepts ecology self-preservation interconnectedness Questions to Reflect On - How do we recognize the power of the seemingly insignificant? - What responsibilities arise from this awareness? A Different Perspective Overlooking small threats can lead to larger problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-haven-2897835/) [Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend/) [Harmless Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmless-life-2059101/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-defend-2372669/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“life will defend itself no matter how smallit is”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-will-defend-itself-no-matter-how-smallit-is/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [I’m fighting for my life, I have to defend myself. If I don’t defend myself, no one else will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-rodriguez/i-m-fighting-for-my-life-i-have-to-defend-myself-if-i-don-t-defend/) [Alex Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-rodriguez/) > [Life will defend itself no matter how small it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/life-will-defend-itself-no-matter-how-small-it-is/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Man and the animals are merely a passage and channel for food, a tomb for other animals, a haven for the dead, giving life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/man-and-the-animals-are-merely-a-passage-and-channel-for-food-a-tomb/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“A harmless life, she called a virtuous life, A quiet life, which was not life at all . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/a-harmless-life-she-called-a-virtuous-life-a-quiet-life-which-was-not/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [She lived, we'll say, A harmless life, she called a virtuous life, A quiet life, which was not life at all (But that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/she-lived-we-ll-say-a-harmless-life-she-called-a-virtuous-life-a/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [You do not have to do anything to defend yourself in life; just be beautiful, and life will defend you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/you-do-not-have-to-do-anything-to-defend-yourself-in-life-just-be/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I would be more angry if an animal were treated cruelly than people, because people can defend themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heart-evangelista/i-would-be-more-angry-if-an-animal-were-treated-cruelly-than-people/) [Heart Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heart-evangelista/) > [Attempts to defend amusement parks and circuses on the grounds that they 'educate' people about animals should not be taken seriously. 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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/) ## More by Yann Martel > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The word isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-word-isn-t-just-the-way-it-is-it-is-how-we-understand-it-no-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/remember-that-your-days-on-this-earth-are-counted-and-you-might-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I must say a word about fear. It's is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. 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Technology helps and good ideas spread - these are two laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/progress-is-unstoppable-it-is-a-drumbeat-to-which-we-must-all-march/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/there-are-always-those-who-take-it-upon-themselves-to-defend-god-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-never-had-problems-with-my-fellow-scientists-scientists-are-a/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. 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But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/nothing-beats-reason-for-keeping-tigers-away-but-be-excessively/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Uvek ima onih koji uzmu za pravo da brane Boga, kao da je Poslednja stvarnost, kao da je temeljni ram postojanja nešto slabašno i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/uvek-ima-onih-koji-uzmu-za-pravo-da-brane-boga-kao-da-je-poslednja/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity- its envy. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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? 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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": "There are animals we haven't stopped by. Don't think they're harmless. 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