Setting Up Camp
In 1960, a young Englishwoman set up camp on the banks of Lake Tanganyika in east Africa. Locals worried about the fate of a lone woman in the surrounding jungles, so Jane Goodall brought her mother and an African cook along as companions. Sent to do research on wild chimpanzees by anthropologist Louis Leakey, he hand picked her for the job because of her careful observations and patient manner. He also thought that a male researcher could intimidate or inspire aggression in the male chimpanzees in the group to be studied.
Not Your Average Scientist
Jane was not a conventional researcher. In fact, she didn't even possess a bachelor's degree when she began her research. Her methodology also became a point of contention. Rather than labeling her subjects by number, she gave them names. Rather than generalizing their behavior, she recognized individual personalities and motivations. In Marguerite Holloway's article Gombe's Famous Primate, Jane recalls, "In 1960, I shouldn't have given the chimps names... They didn't have personalities, only humans did. I couldn't have studied the chimp mind, because only humans had minds." Ironically, Jane credits her lack of scientific training with her ability to view chimpanzees in a revolutionary way. As a result of her research, a far more detailed picture of chimpanzee behavior, interaction, and capabilties now exists.
Controversial Stance
But, the transition from researcher to activist didn't come easily to Jane. For years, she stayed in the Gombe researching wild chimpanzees while chimpanzees in other parts of Africa faced abuse, exploitation, and complete annihilation. Because of her local fame, many local relief workers begged her to throw her name behind conservation efforts. But, she refused. Geza Teleki worked with Jane Goodall in the 1960s and eventually established a national park in Africa. In Sy Montgomery's book Walking with the Great Apes, Teleki describes great disappointment at Jane's lack of involvement, especially given her high visibility. Teleki felt it was her responsibility to step up to the debate. But, Teleki reflects that it was her very capacity to view chimpanzees as individuals that blinded her to the larger problem. "She was very oriented towards individuals and very narrow about understanding general chimp problems. She knew everything about Gombe and nothing about chimps anywhere else."
A Change in Perspective
This changed in 1986 when Jane attended a symposium held by the Chicago Academy of Sciences entitled Understanding Chimps. Due to the desperate situation for chimpanzees in Africa, most discussion veered away from this topic to focus on whether or not there would even be any wild chimpanzees left to understand. "Everyone was appalled at how bad the situation was for chimps everywhere in the world," writes Sy Montgomery, "And, [Jane] suddenly threw herself into the issue of protecting chimps, to an exhausting degree. Since the symposium, Jane has worked tirelessly to better the lives of chimpanzees and preserve their remaining habitat. Want to read more about Jane Goodall? Check out Jane Goodall's Chimp Crusade and Jane Goodall's Reason for Hope.
More About Jane's Conservation Efforts
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