10 Things you didn’t know about Dr. Jane Goodall, and why you should!

First of all, let me share with you my absolute admiration for Dr. Jane Goodall. Apart from being one of the leading scientists of our time, she is now 85 years old and has been an activist for wildlife for the largest part of her life. She merely spends more than 3 days in the same place as she is constantly in the move, talking to people about the environment and specially, about wildlife conservation. Her experience is worth 100 lives.

As the Boston Globe said – “Being with Jane Goodall is like taking a walk with Gandhi”

So please read below 10 things you should know about Dr. Jane Goodall.

1. Dr. Jane Goodall: The woman who redefined Man.

Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall was born in England in April 3, 1934. She spent 45 years studying wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania where she made two major discoveries that changed our definition of humans forever:

1) Chimpanzee use tools, a behaviour previously attributed only to humans;

2) They are not vegetarian.

2. Goodall was interested in animals from a very early age.

Since childhood, she was a passionate reader. She loved to read nature and adventure novels like The Story of Dr. Dolittle and Edgar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan series. These books sparked her imagination ultimately leading to develop her “dream”: to study wild animals in Africa.

3. Goodall’s scientific approach to live began quite early in her life.

In 1939, a young 5 years old Jane was visiting a farm with her mother. A “golden afternoon” as her mother recalls, Jane disappeared. The police were called and began the search. After many hours had passed, Jane suddenly appeared… She had been wondering where the hen had an opening big enough for an egg to drop through. To find out, she crawled inside a henhouse and patiently waited for over five hours until the hen raised herself, wiggled and provided an answer! She still remembers this moment as a crucial moment in her life. Her patience and curiosity certainly paid off during her time as a researcher.

4. Goodall first travelled to Africa in 1957, aged 23 to visit her friend’s farm in Kenya.

She soon obtained work as a secretary, and acting on her friend's advice, she telephoned Louis Leakey, the notable Kenyan archaeologist and palaeontologist who believed that the study of existing great apes could provide indications of the behaviour of early humans. Jane soon began her work in Gombe Stream Game Reserve in Tanzania where she made her famous discoveries.

5. In 1961 Goodall enters Cambridge University as a Ph.D candidate.

One of the few people ever to be admitted without a college degree. There she works on her thesis Behaviour of free-living chimpanzees and enjoys punting the Cambridge river with her friends.

6. Goodall's novel approach to scientific research was not always appreciated.

Goodall was the first person to name chimpanzees and study their personalities…a very controversial move back in 1960. Some scientists disapproved that Goodall named chimpanzees rather than assigning them numbers.

7. At age 85 she continues her work as an Activist.

Today, Goodall travels 300 days a year to lobby governments, visit schools and give speeches to encourage people, especially the youngsters, to protect the environment and to make the world a better place, for humans and animals.

8. Goodall founded two institutes. Dr. Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots.

You can learn more about her work in your region here and here!

9. Goodall has published a numerous series of books including children’s book.

She is the author of In the Shadow of Man, Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe, Reason for Hope.

10. She owns an 80 years old chimpanzee pet…and she brings it everywhere!

As a child, Goodall’s father gave her a chimpanzee stuff toy instead of a teddy bear. Her mother’s friends were horrified thinking it might give her nightmares. Instead, she named it Jubilee and she still carries it with her everywhere.

I hope you enjoyed learning about Dr. Jane Goodall's amazing life journey. I had the opportunity to meet her in 2017 at a conference in Singapore. Please keep an eye on our events to learn where to meet her next!