Jane Goodall 1934–
Primatologist and Conservationist
In 1960, Jane Goodall moved to Africa's wilderness to study chimpanzees. These animals, called primates, live only in Africa. It was an unusual move for a young British woman, but Goodall was determined to live out her childhood dream of working with wildlife.
Goodall settled on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Each day she observed chimpanzees in the forest. At first they ran away, but Goodall was patient. Over time, she was able to watch them at close range. She found that chimpanzees behave more like humans than anyone had imagined. They live in social groups and have family ties. They make tools. They even wage war.
Goodall changed the way people thought about chimpanzees when she began publishing her findings in the 1960s. Today, she is the world's most famous primatologist. A primatologist is a scientist who studies primates. Since 1986 she has focused on conservation, traveling the world to teach about the importance of protecting Africa's chimpanzees. Chimpanzees once lived in 25 African countries. They are now extinct in four of those countries and considered endangered animals because of hunting and deforestation.
Critical Thinking
Why do you think Goodall now focuses on conservation?