By Abi Cole
We discuss the life and career of legendary primatologist Jane Goodall and her impact on the conservation of these beautiful creatures.
From the very young to the very old, David Attenborough is a person that has a place in everybody's heart. He is known for bringing beautiful footage from all over the world of exotic animals and places right into our living rooms. Last month, he was back on our screens with his new series ‘Dynasties’, the first episode showcasing the world of chimpanzees. Whilst David Attenborough’s soothing voice has given us a glimpse into their lives, there’s a woman of whom many may have not have heard, who has dedicated her life to the study of chimpanzees, and revolutionised the way we think about primate behaviour. Her name is Jane Goodall. Despite never gaining an undergraduate degree, Goodall completed a PhD in ethology from Cambridge in 1965. Her thesis titled ‘Behaviour of Free-Living Chimpanzees’ incorporated five years of intense observations of chimpanzees living within Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Having no scientific background, or formal qualifications, she went about her study in an authentic and raw way, naming individual chimps rather than numbering them, and integrating herself into troops. This was a first in scientific research, and she remains the only human to have been accepted into a chimpanzee society. Whilst some in the field criticise her for this approach by saying that it potentially biased her results, as becoming emotionally invested and attached may have clouded her judgement and observations. Despite this, her findings challenged many of the beliefs that we had of chimpanzees at the time, including the belief that humans were the only species to use tools, and that chimpanzees were vegetarian. Goodall observed chimps striping twigs and poking them inside termite mounds, which she named ‘fishing’ for termites. During her time at Gombe, she also observed aggression within chimp societies. She saw them systematically hunting and killing smaller primates, and dominant females killing the young of other females to maintain dominance within the group.
Having always loved animals throughout her childhood, her passion for chimpanzees began at a young age when her father gifted her a stuffed toy chimpanzee, who she named Jubilee. Her passion for the study and conservation of these beautiful animals has continued throughout her life. In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which works across Africa establishing conservation and development programmes, and now has offices all over the world. Goodall, now 84, devotes the majority of her time working as an advocate for chimpanzees and the environment, working all over the world. Jane has dedicated the majority of her life to these incredible animals, our closest cousins, and is now an inspiration to many young women, including myself, trying to develop their passion of conservation and development. She has shown that despite the odds it can be done and after all these years Jubilee still sits on her desk in London.