Download: RealPlayer | Windows Media Player	Above: A young chimpanzee reaches out to Goodall. Right: Goodall plays with chimps at a sanctuary in the Congo.

How I Got Started I have been interested in animals since before I can remember. From the time I was very small, I was fascinated with creepy, crawling, furry, flying creatures. When I was quite young, my mother found me in my room with a handful of worms in my bed, watching as they went around and around. She didn’t say, “Yuk!” and throw them out the window. She said, “Jane, if you leave them in here, they’ll die. They need the air.” And so I let them go free. Even my first books were about animals. I read The Story of Dr. Doolittle, The Jungle Book, and Tarzan. Looking back, I see that the original Tarzan was terribly hard on animals. But I didn’t realize it then. Books are a great source of inspiration. They lure your mind to be imaginative. By the time I was eight or nine, I was dreaming of going to Africa. And my mother, a very special person, would say, “Jane, if you really want something and if you work hard, take advantage of opportunities, and never give up, you will somehow find a way.” In those days you had to learn a foreign language to get a scholarship to a university. But I couldn’t do it—I couldn’t speak French, couldn’t speak German, couldn’t speak Latin. So Mum said, “Why not take a secretarial course, then you can get a job anywhere in the world.” So that’s what I did. But that didn’t lead me directly to Africa. After I finished my secretarial class I began working for a documentary film company—a wonderful job, but with very low pay. When a school friend invited me to visit her family in Kenya, I readily accepted. I quit my job with the film company to begin work as a waitress in order to save the money. Finally, at age 23, with only enough money for boat fare to Africa (that was the cheapest way to travel in those days), I went off by myself to an unknown continent. Even as a child, Goodall loved animals. Where My Interests Take Me When I arrived in Kenya at age 23, I heard about Dr. Louis Leakey and went to see him. He took me around the natural history museum, asking me about animals in the exhibits and dropping words like “ichthyologist,” to see if I understood them. I’d read so much about Africa and gone to so many museums that I could answer many of his questions, so Dr. Leakey offered me a job. The work included a trip to Olduvai Gorge, and based on what I did there, Dr. Leakey felt that I was the one he wanted to study chimpanzees. I used to go out into the field with a tape recorder and a pencil and paper. When I began my research, everything was new and I had to develop my own research methods. I had very little money in the early days. I took few clothes and ate very simply. I had curiosity, patience, and persistence. I was incredibly fit; not eating or drinking all day didn’t bother me. And I always told someone roughly the direction I was going. The Adventure When I first started my research, my mother joined me for the first three months in Tanzania because British authorities wouldn’t allow me to be on my own. She’s still tremendously involved in my work. My sister came to help with photographs in the early days. In the field, every morning I would climb to my special peak with my binoculars, and a flashlight if needed, so I’d be ready when the chimps awoke. I recorded what I saw, sometimes even climbing into the treetops, whether I saw a chimp or not. It was marvelous. If it rained, I covered myself with a sheet of polyethylene. Sometimes it was very cold. I got extremely thin. When you follow the chimps, they may go through thick, thorny, viney places. I often stopped to look at things because everything interests me, not just chimpanzees. You’re in a magic world and if you rush through it, you lose it. When I hear of chimps in need, in the wild or in captivity, I try to help. To raise money for my projects I sometimes give lectures and make appeals. Meanwhile, our research teams are in the field, monitoring chimps we have identified and known for a while. In the wild chimps can live 40 to 50 years; in captivity they may live to be 60. We follow the different individuals. Every one has a unique life history. Discoveries in the Field The most exciting discovery in the early days was finding that chimps used tools, because it was thought that only humans were toolmakers. I’m most proud of something quite different. Through the observations of the chimps and subsequent studies, people’s attitude toward non-human animals has definitely begun to change. There is no question that this change, among scientists and ordinary people alike, is because chimps are so like us. We may observe an infant and its mother, or males squabbling over dominance. We may also have the opportunity to observe a mother with twins or to observe an orphan adopted by a male. Such events are rare, and we may never see them again. There are still so many questions. Top National Geographic Magazine McRae, Michael. “Central Africa’s Orphan Gorillas: Will They Survive in the Wild?” Pages 84-97. February 2000. Adventure Magazine Nichols, Michael “Nick.” “Nick’s Take: Brutal Kinship.” Pages 120-122. Fall 1999. World Magazine Adler, Tina. “Second Chances.” Pages 6-11. September 1999. Book Cummings, Pat and Linda Cummings. Talking With Adventurers. 1998. Web Site Famous Faces: Jane Goodall, a National Geographic Online Feature. Web Site Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute’s program for young people. It emphasizes the value of each individual and inspires and encourages members to play their part in making the world around them a better place. You can make a difference by joining or starting a Roots & Shoots club in your area.

Photo Credits. Top: Hugo van Lawick. Right: Michael Nichols. Bottom: Vanne Goodall. © 2000 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.