Who is Jane Goodall?
In 1957, Jane Goodall, aged 23 years and with no formal academic qualifications, saved up enough money to travel to Africa. There she met the famed anthropologist Dr Louis Leakey. He became her mentor, proposing that she undertake a pioneering study of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania, East Africa. In 1960 she arrived at what is now the Gombe National Park and began the field study that has made her one of the best known scientists in the world. Five years later, after earning a PhD in Ethology at Cambridge University, Dr Goodall returned to Tanzania and established the Gombe Stream Research Centre. Today, with much of the data collected by a team of skilled Tanzania field staff, the centre continues to contribute to significant findings in chimpanzee behaviour and ecology. This study is the longest unbroken field study of any group of animals in the world.
Jane Goodall has observed and studied the behaviour of chimpanzees in the wild, over a period of at least twenty five years. This has involved her living closely with the animals in their habitat and has made her the world’s foremost authority on wild chimpanzees. Jane was born in London and went to school in Bournemouth. When she was very small the first chimpanzee ever to have been bred at London Zoo was born. At the time this was an very important event and as a result her mother bought her a toy chimpanzee which Jane called Jubilee. Jubilee was to stay with Jane all her life and was probably the start of her enthusiasm for chimpanzees and wild life. She did not go on to university but left school at eighteen. After leaving school she and went to stay with a friend in Kenya and while there, she met the world famous scientist Dr Louis Leakey who was researching the remains of all forms of prehistoric life, including man. Although Jane had hardly any scientific training, her love and
Jane Goodall is a notable British primatologist who is often credited for her major efforts in the field of chimpanzee research and protection. Her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees in Tanzania uncovered a great deal of interesting information about chimpanzee society, culture, habits, and lifestyle, earning her a number of academic, scientific, and international honors. In 2003, Jane Goodall was made a Dame of the British Empire, the female equivalent of knighthood, by Queen Elizabeth II.
