Jane Goodall: Facts and Information

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Who is a primatologist? Man has his own status in society. So too have animals. There are species of animals which resemble human features. These common features have enabled science to classify them together so that one can observe and study them collectively. Monkeys and apes have demonstrated features that can classify them to be closely related to human beings. This group of human beings, monkeys and apes have been classified together and are referred to as “Primates”. A scientist who studies these primates is known as a primatologist. One such primatologist of great repute is Jane Goodall who is of English origin.

Early days in the life of Jane Goodall: Jane Goodall was born on April 03, 1934 to English parents. Even as a child she was extremely attached to chimpanzees and other apes. When she was a mere two year old child, her mother on seeing this love for chimpanzees, presented Jane with a stuffed chimpanzee which she still possesses. She has been a good student at school with her main interest of study being the life of primates. She used to nurse a dream of travelling to Africa to intensify her studies about these primates. To realise her dream she did various odd jobs to save money for her first trip to Africa.

The African Journey begins: By the age of twenty three, she had saved enough money to visit Africa and realise her cherished dream. She had a meeting with noted anthropologist Louis Leakey who then became her friend, philosopher and guide. He was able to spot the spark in her and rightly guessed that her passion for chimpanzees would take her to great heights.

The human aspect of chimpanzees: Though she had little training on how to handle chimpanzees, she amply compensated this handicap with her love for animals, her sense of determination and a desire for adventure. She became involved so much with these chimpanzees that a study which she thought would be over in about three years took decades. Till that time it was a belief that chimpanzees were aggressive animals with a crude sense of behaviour. Jane Goodall changed this perception during her study when she found out that chimpanzees too had complex social characteristics which resembled those of humans in more ways than one.

The emotional attachment with chimpanzees: In those days it was a practice to identify animals by numbers. She defied this rule by giving names to chimpanzees which was considered a rebellion at that time. Her actions were frowned at by those in authority but she was single-minded in her approach. She researched that chimpanzees were quite intelligent in the sense that they had the intellect to not only use simple tools for hunting but also knew now to make them, a trait which was considered only to be known to humans.

The darker side of chimpanzees revealed: She had a view that chimpanzees were a species of simple and peace loving animals until an incident in 1974 which changed that perception. She had been a witness to a “war” among two groups of chimpanzees in which many were killed. This brought the darker side of the chimpanzees to the forefront. In spite of this incident, she did not lose her focus on the study of chimpanzees.

Her academic achievements: Her work on the study of primates earned her several doctorate degrees, the first of which was bestowed on her by Cambridge University in 1965. This was a record of sorts as she had been the eighth person in the world till then who had been awarded this doctorate degree without having earned an undergraduate degree.

Where she stands today: On a personal life front she had been married twice and has one son from her first marriage. Her love for chimpanzees helped her find the Committee for the Conservation and Care of Chimpanzees in the year 1986. She has authored many books on the subject and is at present involved in travelling a lot and giving lectures on the subject worldwide. She has been honoured with many awards and she can be considered an authority on this subject today.

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