Out of the mouths of chimps
Ashton Shurson - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Metro
OKOBOJI, Iowa -- When Jane Goodall first went to Africa to study chimpanzees in 1960, she was a curious young woman, ready to make a difference - and now at 73, nothing has changed.
Goodall, who won fame after studying chimpanzees and advocating for the environment, travels 300 days a year. She made a stop to speak in Okoboji, which was attended by UI officials and local residents.
Throughout the lecture, the primatologist reflected on her some of her relationships with the animals and promoted the environmental protection youth program Roots and Shoots, created by the Jane Goodall Institute.
Goodall does a mean impression of a chimp laugh.
"I take the sound of the chimpanzee wherever I go," she said. "So often, even when groups of people meet to discuss animal related issues, the animals tend to get left out and very often become political forums."
( DI video feature )
Goodall's 50-year study in Gombe, Tanzania, is the longest unbroken study of wild animals. Now, she only visits the area twice a year. From her research, she observed striking similarities between chimps and humans, including the type of relationships and personalities - good and bad mothers, nice and mean chimps, and supportive relationships.
"So why are we still studying the chimpanzees after 50 years," she asked. "Because we still have so much to learn."
A Dame of the British Empire, Goodall went on to explain more about her relationships with the primates and a chimp named Satan, who was not "wicked" despite the name. When Satan was younger he stole Goodall's mother's manuscript, and the two had to bribe him with bananas to get it back.
Goodall, who won fame after studying chimpanzees and advocating for the environment, travels 300 days a year. She made a stop to speak in Okoboji, which was attended by UI officials and local residents.
Throughout the lecture, the primatologist reflected on her some of her relationships with the animals and promoted the environmental protection youth program Roots and Shoots, created by the Jane Goodall Institute.
Goodall does a mean impression of a chimp laugh.
"I take the sound of the chimpanzee wherever I go," she said. "So often, even when groups of people meet to discuss animal related issues, the animals tend to get left out and very often become political forums."
( DI video feature )
Video in QuickTime format, click here for free player download
Goodall's 50-year study in Gombe, Tanzania, is the longest unbroken study of wild animals. Now, she only visits the area twice a year. From her research, she observed striking similarities between chimps and humans, including the type of relationships and personalities - good and bad mothers, nice and mean chimps, and supportive relationships.
"So why are we still studying the chimpanzees after 50 years," she asked. "Because we still have so much to learn."
A Dame of the British Empire, Goodall went on to explain more about her relationships with the primates and a chimp named Satan, who was not "wicked" despite the name. When Satan was younger he stole Goodall's mother's manuscript, and the two had to bribe him with bananas to get it back.
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