Reference
- Goodall, Jane (1934–)BASED ON HER primate research in the Gombe Game Reserve in Africa, Jane Goodall is the world’s leading authority on chimpanzees and is considered a great conservationist. She was born in London, England, in 1934. When she was 11 years old, she decided she wanted to travel to Africa and possibly live there. In her early 20s, she found herself in Nairobi, Kenya, working as a secretary. About a year after her arrival, she met Louis Leakey, who was interested in studying apes and their relationship to humans. Both Leakey and his wife, Mary, began collaborating in their studies with Goodall. Leakey thought Jane would be the perfect person to begin a study of the great apes on the Gombe National Reserve in Tanzania, because she was not formally trained in ethology or primatology.
In 1960, Goodall arrived at the Gombe National Reserve and began her research, eager to develop a relationship with the chimpanzees. But after a few weeks of observation, she was discouraged because the chimpanzees would not let her get within 50 yards of them. This changed the day a male chimp wandered into her camp and began stomping and screaming after seeing a banana on a table. Eventually, the chimpanzees learned to accept the young researcher. They allowed her to follow them, and they would greet her with a touch or a kiss. She was able, through careful observation, to find commonalities between humans and chimpanzees.
Goodall married Hugo van Lawick in 1964 and they had one son, Hugo. She later divorced Lawick and entered into a second marriage to Derek Bryceson. Unfortunately, Bryceson died of cancer only five years later...
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Perspectives
Hope for Animals and Their World
From world-renowned scientist Jane Goodall, as seen in the new National Geographic documentary Jane, comes an inspiring message about the future of the animal kingdom. With the insatiable curiosity and conversational prose that have made her a bestselling author, Goodall - along with Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard - shares fascinating survival stories about the American Crocodile, the California Condor, the Black-Footed Ferret, and more; all formerly endangered species and species once on the verge of extinction whose populations are now being regenerated. Interweaving her own first-hand experiences in the field with the compelling research of premier scientists, Goodall illuminates the heroic efforts of dedicated environmentalists and the truly critical need to protect the habitats of these beloved species. At once a celebration of the animal kingdom and a passionate call to arms, Hope For Animals Their World presents an uplifting, hopeful message for the future of animal-human coexistence. Praise for Hope For Animals Their World "Goodall's intimate writing style and sense of wonder pull the reader into each account...The mix of personal and scientific makes for a compelling read."-Booklist "These accounts of conservation success are inspirational."-Publishers Weekly
Seeds of Hope
From world-renowned scientist Jane Goodall, as seen in the new National Geographic documentary Jane, comes a fascinating examination of the critical role that trees and plants play in our world. From world-renowned scientist Jane Goodall, as seen in the new National Geographic documentary Jane, comes a fascinating examination of the critical role that trees and plants play in our world. Seeds of Hope takes us from Goodall's home in England to her home-away-from-home in Africa, deep inside the Gombe forest, where she and the chimpanzees are enchanted by the fig and plum trees they encounter. She introduces us to botanists around the world, as well as places where hope for plants can be found, such as The Millennium Seed Bank. She shows us the secret world of plants with all their mysteries and potential for healing our bodies as well as Planet Earth. Looking at the world as an adventurer, scientist, and devotee of sustainable foods and gardening--and setting forth simple goals we can all take to protect the plants around us--Goodall delivers an enlightening story of the wonders we can find in our own backyards.
Through a Window
The renowned British primatologist continues the "engrossing account" of her time among the chimpanzees of Gombe, Tanzania (Publishers Weekly). In her classic, In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall wrote of her first ten years at Gombe. In Through a Window she continues the story, painting a more complete and vivid portrait of our closest relatives. On the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Gombe is a community where the principal residents are chimpanzees. Through Goodall's eyes we watch young Figan's relentless rise to power and old Mike's crushing defeat. We learn how one mother rears her children to succeed and another dooms hers to failure. We witness horrifying murders, touching moments of affection, joyous births, and wrenching deaths. As Goodall compellingly tells the story of this intimately intertwined community, we are shown human emotions stripped to their essence. In the mirror of chimpanzee life, we see ourselves reflected. "A humbling and exalting book . . . Ranks with the great scientific achievements of the twentieth century." --The Washington Post "[An] absolutely smashing account . . . Thrilling, affectionate, intelligent--a classic." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Surviving Progress
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Technological advancement, economic development, population increase - are they signs of a thriving society? Or too much of a good thing? Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese, this provocative documentary explores the concept of progress in our modern world, guiding us through the major "progress traps" facing our civilization in the arenas of technology, economics, consumption, and the environment.
The Woman Who Loves Giraffes
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowIn 1956, four years before Jane Goodall ventured into the world of chimpanzees and seven years before Dian Fossey left to work with mountain gorillas, 23-year-old biologist Anne Innis Dagg made an unprecedented solo journey to South Africa to study giraffes in the wild. When she returned home a year later, the insurmountable barriers she faced as a female scientist proved hard to overcome. In The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, Anne (now 86) retraces her steps, offering an intimate window into her life as a young woman, juxtaposed with a first-hand look at the devastating reality that giraffes are facing today. Anne and the species she loves have each experienced triumphs as well as setbacks. THE WOMAN WHO LOVES GIRAFFES gives us a moving perspective on both.
Jane's Journey
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowIt would be hard to name anyone who has had more of an impact in the realm of animal research and wildlife conservation than Jane Goodall, whose 45 year study of wild chimpanzees in Africa is legendary.
Online Resources
- Securing a future for chimpanzeesIn this article the author discusses the need for urgent action to save and secure future for chimpanzees. The author emphasizes that conservationists and local people must collaborate in the advocacy, international conservation, taking care of forests, and education concerning the protection of chimpanzees. He also relates the efforts and environmentally sustainable rural development strategies of the most comprehensive community conservation programs in Africa, TACARE.
- Witnessing Chimpanzee—Human Closeness: Jane Goodall at Gombe and SinceThis article identifies a standardized account, now in wide circulation, of Jane Goodall's discovery in 1960 of chimpanzee "tool-making," thereby demonstrating (Goodall claimed) the distinctive closeness of chimpanzees and humans. The piece traces this standardized account to Goodall's own 1971 work, In the Shadow of Man. Comparing the 1971 account of the incident to both a) reports of Goodall's work before then and b) her own field notes from 1960, the piece shows that Goodall's 1971 work projected back into the initial moment of observation encodings and interpretations not present in the initial moment of observation. In so doing, the 1971 account empiricized (and de-historicized) its encodings and interpretations. Specifically obscured by this instance of retrospective empiricizing, moreover, is Goodall's reliance on a functionalist (and thus culture-free) understanding of human tools and tool-making, in her larger claims about the closeness of chimpanzees to humans. A final section of the piece looks at the ideological work done by the pervasive signifying of chimpanzee-human closeness by Goodall's public persona in our time, taking that persona to be an instance of a rare type—a "serious celebrity." Along the way, the piece registers elements of historical specificity in Goodall's relationship to her mentor Louis Leakey, the Gombe field site in Tanzania, professionalized science, and more.
On the Edge: A Wake-up Call
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowAfter Mikhail Gorbachev signaled the end of the Cold War, he brought together hundreds of the worlds leading thinkers to confront the most daunting challenge of all times. Together they embark on a determined search for a safe passage into the next century. On the Edge is a riveting tale of the greatest crisis ever to threaten the human race. This emotional documentary wrestles with the combined impacts of our teeming human population coupled with soaring levels of consumption upon Earth's dwindling natural resources. Together, the speakers draw on their ingenuity, courage and compassion to paint a portrait of a better world. as they issue a stirring summons for dramatic change before we run out of options.