Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall Ph.D., DBE, (born April 3, 1934) is an English primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist, probably best-known for conducting a forty-five year study of chimpanzee social and family life, as director of the Jane Goodall Institute in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.

Biography

Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was born in London, England on April 3, 1934. Jane was the first child of Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall and the former Margaret Myfanwe "Vanne" Joseph. Her younger sister, Judy, was born in 1938. Jane's father gave her a life-like toy monkey called Jubilee, although friends thought it would scare her. Today, the toy still sits on her dresser in London. After the divorce of their parents when Jane was only 8, Jane and Judy moved with their mother to the seaside city of Bournemouth, England, where Jane's maternal grandmother and two great-aunts lived.

Goodall was interested in animals from her youth; this, coupled with her secretarial training prompted noted anthropologist Louis Leakey to hire her as his secretary during her trip to Kenya in 1957 and 1958. As her mentor, Leaky actually recruited her prior to university training specifically because she was not acculturated into current scientific trends, and could potentially "see" beyond the current paradigm. It was through this association Goodall began studying the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream National Park (then known as Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve) in July, 1960. Although her discoveries were valid and astonishing in terms of current thought, Leakey felt she could defend her ideas better with more education. Leakey arranged for Goodall to return to the UK where she earned a doctorate in ethology from the University of Cambridge in 1964.

Goodall has been married twice: first, in 1964, to an aristocratic wildlife photographer, Baron Hugo van Lawick; they divorced amicably in 1974. Their son, Hugo, known as 'Grub', was born in 1967. She married Derek Bryceson, (a member of Tanzania’s parliament and the director of that country’s national parks) in the mid-1970s, and they remained married until his death in 1980.

Goodall is known for her landmark study of chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which supports the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. With 19 offices around the world, the Institute is widely recognized for innovative, community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa and a global youth program, Roots & Shoots, which currently operates in 87 countries. Today, Dr. Goodall devotes virtually all of her time to advocating on behalf of chimpanzees, humanity and the environment, traveling nearly 300 days a year.

Dr. Goodall’s many honors include the Medal of Tanzania, Japan's prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, and the Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence. In April 2002, Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Dr. Goodall a United Nations Messenger of Peace and in 2003 was named a Dame Commander of the British Empire in a ceremony held in Buckingham Palace .

Professional accomplishments

Goodall was instrumental in the recognition of social learning, thinking, acting, and culture in wild chimpanzees, their differentiation from the bonobo, and the inclusion of both species along with the gorilla as Hominids. One of Goodall's major contributions to the field of primatology was the discovery of tool use in chimpanzees. Her mentor, Louis Leaky, said "Now we must redefine 'man,' redefine 'tool,' or accept chimpanzees as humans." Indeed, much rethinking has been done in light of her various discoveries.

Dr. Goodall pioneered and advocated the observation of cultures of primates in the wild as opposed to the previously established methods of observation within a controlled environment. Another innovation in methodology was that she named the animals she studied, instead of assigning each a number. Numbering was a nearly universal practice at the time, and it was thought to be important in the removal of one's self from the potential for emotional attachment to the subject being studied. Dr. Goodall thought the contrary, that it helped her observations to become attached to her subjects. Her success has caused many to re-think the previous restrictions of un-involvement as necessary.

The tool use she discovered was that some chimpanzees poke twigs into termite mounds, the termites would grab onto the stick with their mandibles and the chimpanzees would then just pull the stick out and eat the termites. Previously, only humans were thought to use tools. In recent continuation of this research, her Gombe Stream Research Center recently discovered that the way female chimpanzees learn this "fishing" technique is different from the way males do.

Dr. Goodall discovered that the life of the chimpanzee had some other disturbing similarities with human behavior. She found infanticide and bully behavior that could result in death. In 1974 at the Gombe Stream Research center the first known "war" between primates was observed and recorded for four years. This "war" stopped only when the rival group was completely eliminated.

Dr. Goodall observed many close relationships between the primates, some lasting a lifetime. In 1987, she observed a teenager named Spindle adopt an infant that was not a close relative, once again, pioneering our ideas of primate behavior.

Cooperative hunting in the primates was unknown before her observations of red colobus monkeys. She also expanded our understanding of primates diets. Previously to her observations,they were thought to be exclusively vegetarian, when in fact they eat a wide variety of other animals and sometimes eat other primates.

Encountering children on her tour, she repeatedly heard from them that the older generation had ruined the planet for the children now growing up. It made sense to her, and she became an advocate for environmental and humanitarian causes. He book, Reason to Hope expresses some of the philosophy of hope that she has developed as a scientist and a spiritual woman that sees God working in our daily lives.

Dr Goodall is also on the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine

As a figure in popular culture

Dr Goodall has a good sense of humor and somehow captures our imagination. She has appeared (cast as herself) in an episode of Nickelodeon's animated series The Wild Thornberrys entitled "The Trouble With Darwin". She's been a character in Irregular Webcomic!'s "Steve and Terry" theme. A parody of Goodall was in an episode of The Simpsons and featured her as a diamond-hoarding slave driver of chimpanzees.

One anecdote in popular culture illustrates Dr. Goodall's consistent ability to simply see things in her own perspective and in ways that may confound others. One of Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons shows two chimpanzees grooming. One finds a human hair on the other and says to her husband "doing a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?" When the Goodall Institute tried to take action, it was Dr. Goodall herself who stopped the effort because she found the cartoon funny. Since then, all profits from sales of a shirt featuring this cartoon go to the Goodall Institute. She wrote a preface to The Far Side Gallery 5 where she explained the controversy and praised Larson, who is a professional entomologist, for his creative ideas that often compare and contrast the behavior of humans and animals. Unfortunately the chimpanzees apparently did not share Dr. Goodall's appreciation as when Larson visited Gombe National Park in 1989 he was attacked by Frodo, a chimp described by Goodall as a "bully". Larson escaped with cuts and bruises.

Unification Perspective

Dr. Goodall has been a figure to catch the public imagination, and she has used this well to further her many causes. She has grown and changed over the years to "give back" to the world messages of hope and helped provide methods of service for our redemption. Although a pioneer in many ways, her contrast with another contemporary woman ethologist remains an enigma. Dian Fossey was also mentored by Louis Leakey prior to her doctorate at Cambridge and worked with another primate in the wild, the mountain gorilla, after a brief internship with Jane Goodall to learn her methodology of observation. Dr. Fossey's life was cut short however, and was murdered in her camp in Rwanda.

Together, Dr Fossey and Dr. Goodall provide an example of the archetype of Cain and Abel type figures. Just as in the story in Genesis, Cain solved his problem in killing his brother Abel and thus began the human history of violence, the path of restoration presented in the Divine Principle says that these two world views must be reconciled into a harmonious unity and a way of life closer to God. Our enemies must be embraced, and we must go together to our altar, as Jesus advised (Matthew 5:24). This is the path of restoration of problems in the past, and our hope for the future. For example, when Dr. Goodall faced the kidnapping problem of a student, she turned to political negotiation and appeal. Dr. Fossey fell victim to the more Cain-type methodology when she fought against the poachers by arming her staff and allowing violence. Although it was to protect their camp, and her beloved gorillas, it seems as inevitable as a Greek tragedy the events that ensued, and continues to fascinate us today. Although Dr. Fossey has considerable professional accomplishment, she has also provided a role model for violent and aggressive methods that some use today while Dr. Goodall has provided a role model for finding solutions that can provide higher unification with continued development.

Awards

• 1980: Order of the Golden Ark, World Wildlife Award for Conservation
• 1984: J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize
• 1985: Living Legacy Award from the International Women's League
• Society of the United States; Award for Humane Excellence, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ==
• 1987: Albert Schweitzer Prize

• 1989: Encyclopedia Britannica Award for Excellence on the Dissemination of Learning for the Benefit of Mankind; Anthropologist of the Year Award ==
• 1990: The AMES Award, American Anthropologist Association; Whooping Crane Conservation Award, Conoco, Inc.; Gold Medal of the Society of Women Geographers; Inamori Foundation Award; Washoe Award; The Kyoto Prize in Basic Science
• 1991: The Edinburgh Medal
• 1993: Rainforest Alliance Champion Award
• 1994: Chester Zoo Diamond Jubilee Medal
• 1995: Commander of the British Empire, presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; The National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal for Distinction in Exploration, Discovery, and Research; Lifetime Achievement Award, In Defense of Animals; The Moody Gardens Environmental Award; Honorary Wardenship of Uganda National Parks
• 1996: The Zoological Society of London Silver Medal; The Tanzanian Kilimanjaro Medal; The Primate Society of Great Britain Conservation Award; The Caring Institute Award; The Polar Bear Award; William Proctor Prize for Scientific Achievement
• 1997: John & Alice Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement; David S. Ingells, Jr. Award for Excellence; Common Wealth Award for Public Service; The Field Museum's Award of Merit; Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement; Royal Geographical Society / Discovery Channel Europe Award for A Lifetime of Discovery
• 1998: Disney's Animal Kingdom Eco Hero Award; National Science Board Public Service Award; The Orion Society’s John Hay Award
• 1999: International Peace Award; Botanical Research Institute of Texas International Award of Excellence in Conservation
• 2000: Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints International Peace Award
• 2001: Graham J. Norton Award for Achievement in Increasing Community Liability; Rungius Award of the National Museum of Wildlife Art, USA; Roger Tory Peterson Memorial Medal, Harvard Museum of Natural History; Master Peace Award; Gandhi/King Award for Non-Violence
• 2002: The Huxley Memorial Medal, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland; United Nations “Messenger of Peace” Appointment
• 2003: Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science; Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment Award; Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Achievement; Dame of the British Empire, presented by His Royal Highness Prince Charles; Chicago Academy of Sciences’ Honorary Environmental Leader Award
• 2004: Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest; Will Rogers Spirit Award, the Rotary Club of Will Rogers and Will Rogers Memorial Museums; Life Time Achievement Award, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
• 2005: Honorary doctorate degree in science from Syracuse University
• 2006: Received the 60th Anniversary Medal of the UNESCO.

Publications

Books for adults

• 1970 My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees Washington, DC: National Geographic Society
• 1971 Innocent Killers (with H. van Lawick). Boston: Houghton Mifflin; London: Collins.
• 1971 In the Shadow of Man Boston: Houghton Mifflin; London: Collins. Published in 48 languages.
• 1986 The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior Boston: Bellknap Press of the Harvard University Press. Published also in Japanese and Russian. R.R. Hawkins Award for the Outstanding Technical, Scientific or Medical book of 1986, to Bellknap Press of Harvard University Press, Boston. The Wildlife Society (USA) Award for "Outstanding Publication in Wildlife Ecology and Management".
• 1990 Through a Window: 30 years observing the Gombe chimpanzees London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Translated into more than 15 languages. 1991 Penguin edition, UK. American Library Association "Best" list among Nine Notable Books (Nonfiction) for 1991.
• 1993 Visions of Caliban (co-authored with Dale Peterson, Ph.D.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. New York Times "Notable Book" for 1993. Library Journal "Best Sci-Tech Book" for 1993.
• 1999 Brutal Kinship (with Michael Nichols). New York: Aperture Foundation.
• 1999 Reason For Hope; A Spiritual Journey (with Phillip Berman). New York: Warner Books, Inc. Translated into Japanese.
• 2000 40 Years At Gombe New York: Stewart, Tabori, and Chang.
• 2000 Africa In My Blood (edited by Dale Peterson). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
• 2001 Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters, the later years (edited by Dale Peterson). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
• 2002 The Ten Trusts: What We Must Do To Care for the Animals We Love (with Marc Bekoff). San Francisco: Harper San Francisco
• 2005 Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating New York: Warner Books, Inc.

Children's Books

• 1972 Grub: The Bush Baby (with H. van Lawick). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
• 1988 My Life with the Chimpanzees New York: Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc. Translated into French, Japanese and Chinese. Parenting's Reading-Magic Award for "Outstanding Book for Children," 1989.
• 1989 The Chimpanzee Family Book Saxonville, MA: Picture Book Studio; Munich: Neugebauer Press; London: Picture Book Studio. Translated into more than 15 languages, including Japanese and Kiswahili. The UNICEF Award for the best children's book of 1989. Austrian state prize for best children's book of 1990.
• 1989 Jane Goodall's Animal World: Chimps New York: Macmillan.
• 1989 Animal Family Series: Chimpanzee Family; Lion Family; Elephant Family; Zebra Family; Giraffe Family; Baboon Family; Hyena Family; Wildebeest Family Toronto: Madison Marketing Ltd.
• 1994 With Love New York / London: North-South Books. Translated into German, French, Italian, and Japanese.
• 1999 Dr. White (illustrated by Julie Litty). New York: North-South Books.
• 2000 The Eagle & the Wren (illustrated by Alexander Reichstein). New York: North-South Books.
• 2001 Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World and Ours New York: Scholastic Press
• 2004 Rickie and Henri: A True Story (with Alan Marks) Penguin Young Readers Group

Films

• 1963 Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees National Geographic Society
• 1984 Among the Wild Chimpanzees National Geographic Special
• 1988 People of the Forest with Hugo van Lawick
• 1990 Chimpanzee Alert in the Nature Watch Series, Central Television
• 1990 Chimps, So Like Us HBO film nominated for 1990 Academy Award
• 1990 The Life and Legend of Jane Goodall National Geographic Society.
• 1990 The Gombe Chimpanzees Bavarian Television
• 1995 Fifi's Boys for the Natural World series for the BBC
• 1996 Chimpanzee Diary for BBC2 Animal Zone
• 1997 Animal Minds for BBC
• 2000 Jane Goodall: Reason For Hope PBS special produced by KTCA
• 2001 Chimps R Us PBS special Scientific Frontiers.
• 2002 Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees (IMAX format), in collaboration with Science North

Publication list mostly taken from The Jane Goodall Institute

External links

• The Jane Goodall Institute
• Jane Goodall
• "Chimpanzees - Bridging the Gap". In Paola Cavalieri & Peter Singer (eds.), The Great Ape Project, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1993, pp. 10-18.
• Big Picture TV Free videos of Jane Goodall
• The Jane Goodall Institute Study Corner

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