Discover the biography of Jane Goodall, the world’s leading chimpanzee specialist, who fights tirelessly for conservation and respect. Despite the inability to summarize decades of primate studies in a few words, this article attempts to gather some of its main contributions to understanding behavior.
It is also impossible to capture in an article her extraordinary personality, her commitment to the world, her kindness, etc. , so this article is also an invitation to look for this amazing woman, as well as to read her texts and listen to her. This is the best example that small joint changes can change the world.
“Habitat destruction is often related to greed and materialism in the developed world. “Jane Goodall?
Jane Goodall (born 3 April 1934) is an English primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist best known for her decades-long study of chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.
She had been an animal lover since she was a child, but the first time she really wanted to go to Africa to study them was when she read Tarzan. She says she was jealous because Tarzan married bad Jane.
Her first experiment to observe animal behavior took place when she was 4 years old and she wanted to understand how chickens lay eggs, she remained hidden watching for more than four hours, so absorbed that her parents even called the police for her disappearance. mother understood her interest in animals and wanted her daughter to share her discoveries. Jane says that, thanks to her mother’s interest, a scientist was born that day.
Their case is perhaps the best example of how to stimulate children’s curiosity and help them question and experiment for themselves is the right way for them to develop with joy, commitment and passion for what they do.
The first time she went to Gombe she did so with her mother, because at the time it was not considered safe for a young single woman to go alone in this area, they spent four months there, during which Jane could only observe the chimpanzees remotely.
He was able to obtain a doctorate in ethology, which allowed him to continue studying the behavior of primates. In 1960, paleontologist Louis Leakey sent him to Tanzania to study the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees. This is how several exciting decades of field studies began. jane Goodall’s biography.
One of the first things he discovered about chimpanzees, when he could still observe them with binoculars remotely, was that they were able to build and use tools, this skill was considered exclusively human, so their discovery means that chimpanzees are much more human than humans. This statement, like many others, was not well received in the scientific world.
He observed that they were very sociable beings, spent a lot of time caring, playing or tickling, touching each other, hugging, holding hands and even kissing.
He also studied the sounds of his call and nonverbal language as a means of expressing fear, sadness or as a sign of threat or danger. It was also a revolution, as these typically human behaviors could not be imagined in primates.
“Now we have to redefine the tool,” redefine “human, ” or accept chimpanzees as humans. “Louis Leak?
Regarding maternal behavior, we have examples that today we can assimilate to two different cultivation styles, he points out that mothers are generally protective and promote the independence of their children, take care of them and encourage them to promote their development, just like human mothers . This is what we know today as a secure bond.
However, the observation of chimpanzee Paixo, an indifferent and callous mother, demonstrated the importance of maternal behavior and a safe attachment to the good development of children, as is the case in humans.
Children depended on their mothers for many years because they learned by observation to defend themselves; in particular, he studied the case of Flint, a chimpanzee who, even as a teenager, continued to breastfeed and required the constant attention of his mother Flo. old and one day he died in an accident, Flint found her and, after spending a lot of time looking at her, returned to the community, her depression worsened, she stopped eating and eventually died.
Flint’s case could be extrapolated to Spitz’s study of the effects of mother-child separation, which can lead to anachlytic depression or hospital syndrome, which can lead to death from apathy.
Only a small part of Jane Goodall’s findings have been described: the most significant and those that can be more easily related to understanding human behavior; however, his studies served as the basis for all subsequent research on chimpanzees.
Her research has made her the world’s most important primatologist; thanks to this, he has received several awards.
As soon as she entered college to do her PhD, she was accused of doing bad research, was widely criticized for naming chimpanzees because she was unsymistic and suggested anthropomorphism, and was even more criticized for attributing emotions or feelings to them and suggesting that she had different personalities.
They have tried countless times to discredit her simply by being a woman, especially when she suggested the similarity between humans and primates. The headlines attributed their success not to their amazing work, but to their beautiful legs or blond hair. The reviews, he used some of them in his favor to obtain more funding and continue his studies.
After the summit of the Chicago Academy of Conservation, where the impact of deforestation could be seen, he left fieldwork and became an activist. Thanks to her struggle to conserve these primates and their habitat, she is considered a “global ambassador of chimpanzees”. .
In addition, the Jane Goodall Institute’s various educational programs and conferences to raise human awareness of the impact our behavior can have on nature and promote respect for animals and the environment, he believes that no matter how intelligent, human beings are not. intelligent, because he’s destroying his only house.
“Now that we finally realize the terrible damage we’ve done to the environment, we’re using our intelligence to find technological solutions. “Jane Goodall?