In 1965, during her first months alone in the Tanzanian forest, Jane Goodall said she felt a “spiritual connection” with the forest and its animals: “If you’re alone, you feel part of nature.” Three years earlier, however, when studying for her PhD at Cambridge University, Goodall felt less at home. Her revolutionary, inclusive attitude to nature had been criticised by fellow-students, and she felt marked out, not because she was a woman but because she was a rebel: “I was talking about animals with personalities, minds, feelings, giving them names, fighting against the fact that a scientist shouldn’t have empathy, and saying that empathy was what gave rise to the ‘aha!’ moments.”
six million years ago
Goodall’s experiences have added to the debate over the degree to which humans and primates share certain innate characteristics. Thanks to Goodall, we believe that the parallels between Homo sapiens and Pan troglodytes (chimpanzees) are numerous. Scientists think that much of our behaviour may be inherited from the common ancestors we shared with chimpanzees six million years ago. But which characteristics did we inherit? And which are human-made?
chimp LOVE
Goodall’s published findings on the practices of chimpanzees remain some of the most highly-regarded in the world of animal behaviour research. She found that not only did Pan troglodytes make and use tools, but they hugged and kissed each other, developed strong bonds and experienced adolescence. Goodall even used her observations of chimp mothers to inspire her own son’s upbringing. “There are certain characteristics that define a good chimp mother. She is patient, she is protective but she is not over-protective […] She is tolerant but she can impose discipline.” Goodall also found that chimps used subterfuge to get what they wanted. They even fought ‘wars’, killing members of their own species.
thank you, legs
Despite her scientific revelations, during the massive press attention in the 1960s and 1970s, Goodall experienced sexism and attempts to undermine her. Some scientists attributed the media interest to her being a “National Geographic cover girl” with “lovely legs”. Decades later, Goodall was gracious about this, as it highlighted a difficulty that all scientists had in getting funding for their research. “I did think if having lovely legs — which I did — helps to get money to do what I want to do, then thank you, legs!”
nature or nurture
In his introduction to In the Shadow of Man, Goodall’s 1971 bestseller, Stephen Jay Gould wrote: “We can never know, by studying ourselves alone, whether important aspects of our mental capacities reflect an ancestral evolutionary heritage or new features evolved or socially acquired by our lineage.” It is very human to emphasise certain shared features, such as violence, over others. In fact, recent research has shown that it is the overwhelmingly cooperative nature of chimpanzees that we share.
STORYTELLING
Goodall’s pragmatism and empathy defines her life’s work. Her slow, calm, persuasive, non-confrontational approach has made her one of the most admired and successful environmentalists. In the three decades before Covid, she travelled three hundred days a year, visiting schools, conferences and talk shows. “You’ve got to reach the heart. And I do that through storytelling,” she has said.