Jane Goodall: Biography

Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934, in London, England. She started liking animals during her early years. In her leisure time, she observed birds and nature. Since she was little she would dream of going to Africa to find exotic animals. She would make sketches and notes about the animals she would observe.

In her schooling years, she went to Uplands private school. In 1950, she received her school certificate, but in 1952 she got a higher certificate. At the age of 18 she graduated high school and went out to find a job. She ended up getting a job as a secretary at Oxford University. In her spare time, she would work at London- based documentary film company to afford a trip to Africa. Through a friend inviting her to South Kinango, Kenya she met the famed anthropologist Louis Leakey. She also met curator of the museum in Nairobi. Leakey soon invited her to work as a secretary and asked her to participate in an anthropological dig at the new famous Olduvai Greoge. This site involved rich prehistoric remains of early humans.

On July 16, 1960, her mother and an African cook accompanied her and she went back to Africa. She soon established a camp on the shore of Lake Tanganyka. Her first try on trying to observe chimps failed. She soon found another group of chimps she could follow and they let her get closer to them and by two year she could come near them and they would eat bananas out of her hands.

While Leaky was looking for financial support, Goodall went back to England to work on an animal documentary for Granada Television. Goodall used her newfound acceptance to make a “banana club,’’ a daily feeding method. She used this to gain trust and obtain the behaviors of chimpanzees. While using this method she became friendlier with the chimps. She followed what the chimps did, spent times in trees, and even ate what they did. By having a lot of time around the chimps, she discovered a lot of new things about them. She found out that they have a complex social system.

They can make more than 20 individual sounds. She is rewarded for making the first recorded observation of chimps eating meat and using tools. Tool making was first known to be created by humans and chimps picked up the trait. She also noted that chimps throw stones as weapons. Chimps also comfort each other by touch and embraces, and develop long-term familia bonds. The father of the chimps don’t play a role in family life but does play a role in social satisfaction. Goodall has seen chimps stalk, kill, and hunt large animals.

They use grass to make spoons to eat termites. A dutch wildlife photographer was sent to Africa and he then met Goodall and they fell in love. The got married on March 28, 19.

Works Cited

1. Goodall, J. (1999). Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey. Grand Central Publishing.
2. Goodall, J. (2000). Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. Mariner Books.
3. Goodall, J., & Peterson, D. (2018). Jane Goodall: A Biography. Greenwood.
4. Goodall, J., & Berman, P. (2004). Jane Goodall's Animal World: Gorillas. Silver Dolphin Books.
5. Goodall, J., & Van Lawick-Goodall, H. (1971). In the Shadow of Man. Mariner Books.
6. Peterson, D. (1995). Jane Goodall: Researcher Who Champions Chimps. Enslow Publishers.
7. Peterson, D. (2006). Jane Goodall: Legendary Primatologist. Lerner Publications.
8. Peterson, D. (2011). Jane Goodall: Animal Scientist and Friend. Compass Point Books.
9. Turner, A. (2018). Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man. National Geographic.
10. Woodward, K. (2018). Jane Goodall: A Life with Chimps. Crabtree Publishing Company.