![]() ![]() Her book The Chimpanzees of Gome: Patterns of Behaviour was published in 1986. Jane started to travel widely promoting conservation though she continues to return to Gombe. An expanded mandate - conservation educationOver the years the Gombe Stream Research Centre grew and Jane and her fellow researchers looked at Chimpanzee feeding behaviour, ecology, infant development and aggression. Two orphaned Chimps were taken in by two older male Chimps who were themselves orphans. Although such brutality is disturbing Jane also speaks about the altruism of the Chimps. ![]() They killed and ate between 5 and 10 newborn infants. The females also exhibited disturbing behaviour. Complex social behaviour of ChimpsIn the 1970's Jane observed the darker side of Chimps nature when conflict erupted between rival Chimp groups and a Chimp called Figan lead his troop into war and killed all seven of the rival males and a female. This increased support and funding for the Gombe study and the Gombe Stream Research Centre was founded. Jane's observations were published in National Geographic with captivating photos by photographer Hugo van Lawick, who became Jane's first husband. Throughout her years of studying Chimpanzee behaviour, which has spanned over 45 years, Jane has developed an understanding of Chimpanzee society and is considered to be the foremost expert in the field. ![]() Jane insisted on giving her Chimps names rather than numbers in her research which was unheard of at the time. She discovered that Chimps are individuals and have distinct personalities, an idea that was against the grain of ethnology at the time. Jane then returned to her research at Gombe. Leakey was ecstatic with Jane's findings and arranged for funding and for Jane who had no degree to enrol at the Cambridge University as a doctoral student. ![]() Up until this point tool making was used as a defining point to separate mankind from animals, but with this new discovery our understanding of Chimps, tools and mankind were redefined. This was a turning point in our understanding of primates. ToolsShe later watched as they took twigs and stripped all the leaves off them to create a simple tool which they used to fish out the termites. Jane constructed a hide so that she could observe the Chimps when they came again. He was using a long flexible probe to fish termites out of the mound. Just two weeks later she was hiking up a peak when she saw a Chimp in the undergrowth - David at a termite mound. Up until this point it had been assumed that Chimps were solely vegetarian. Jane would later observe Chimps actively hunting. OmnivoresOne day from a distance she observed a Chimpanzee which she called David Greybeard feeding on a baby bush pig. Her research provided some startling insights into primate behaviour. One day she found a good vantage point from which she could watch the Chimps from a distance. Changing our understanding of ChimpanzeesJane found her first weeks in Gombe frustrating as the Chimpanzee's fled whenever they saw her. In July 1960, Jane stepped onto the beach at Gombe accompanied by her mother to satisfy the British authorities who did not want a young woman living alone in the jungle. He asked Jane to undertake a study on a group of Chimpanzee's living on the shores of Lake Tanzania. Leakey reasoned that knowledge about the little understood Chimpanzee's could provide clues to our own evolutionary past. Leakey was taken by Jane's enthusiasm and hired her as an assistant. Within a few weeks she met Louis Leakey, the famed archaeologist and palaeontologist. She earned money as a waitress to pay for her passage to Africa. When she was 22 she received an invitation to stay with her friend in Kenya. Jane Goodall dreamed about living among the animals of Africa. Her work among Chimpanzees in Tanzania transformed our understanding of them and ourselves. Jane Goodall is one of the most prominent conservationists in the world. ![]()
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