Written by Vedika Pathania, a second-year student.

“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”

Jane Goodall is a famous scientist, environmentalist, and humanitarian whose revolutionary findings altered our knowledge of human nature. Even though a lot of us don’t know who she is, we need to.

She is a British ethologist who was born in London in 1934 and is most known for her extensive and long-term studies on the chimps in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park.Dr. Goodall had always wished to live in Africa among the animals. She moved to Gombe, Tanzania, at the age of 26 to pursue her passion for animals and Africa, where she launched a groundbreaking study of chimpanzees in the wild by immersing herself in their environment as a neighbour rather than a distant spectator.

Goodall was able to dispel a lot of misconceptions regarding chimps throughout the years. She discovered, for example, that the creatures are omnivore rather than vegetarian, that they can make and use tools, and that they have a set of hitherto undiscovered sophisticated and highly evolved social behaviours. Goodall published a number of books and articles on her studies, including In the Shadow of Man (1971). In The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior, she detailed her years of observation (1986). In the early twenty-first century, Goodall continued to publish and talk about environmental and conservation issues. She was appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.

Jane changed her career path from scientist to environmentalist and activist after attending a primatology conference in 1986, when she saw that every speaker highlighted deforestation at their research locations across the world. Jane had seen some indications of deforestation in Gombe Stream National Park bordering Lake Tanganyika, but nothing substantial. Then, in the early 1990s, she flew over the park in a tiny plane and was astounded to discover extensive deforestation on the opposite side, where local communities were fast developing. Where previously pristine trees stood, miles of barren slopes spread. Jane realised she needed to act to safeguard the forest and the chimps’ essential environment. Her first aim was to help chimps at medical research institutions live better lives. Jane assisted in the establishment of many refuges for chimpanzees rescued from these facilities or orphaned as a result of the bushmeat trade. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), a global community-centered conservation organisation, in 1977, and the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots programme in 1991, which encourages young people all over the world to be change agents by participating in projects that protect the environment, wildlife, or their communities. She met with anybody she thought could help conserve areas like Gombe Stream National Park and species like her beloved chimps, and she has been an outspoken champion for animal welfare, peace, and living in harmony with the environment.

In an encouraging video released in 2019, Dr. Jane Goodall emphasised the need of raising awareness and engaging more people to care about sustainability, saying,“If you directly confront somebody who’s thinking polar opposite to you, they don’t really listen…listen to them, but if you feel you are right, you must have the courage of conviction.”

Jane is still working hard to raise awareness and funds to safeguard chimps, their habitats, and the earth we all share today. She travels across the world around 300 days a year, making lectures and persuading government officials and corporate leaders to support animal conservation and conserve important ecosystems.

Key points summary

• Jane Goodall is a famous scientist, environmentalist, and humanitarian
• She is a British ethologist who was born in London in 1934 and is most known for her extensive and long-term studies on the chimps
• Goodall was able to dispel a lot of misconceptions regarding chimps throughout the years.
• She was appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.
• Jane changed her career path from scientist to environmentalist and activist after attending a primatology conference in 1986
• Jane assisted in the establishment of many refuges for chimpanzees rescued from these facilities or orphaned as a result of the bushmeat trade
• She founded the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), a global community-centered conservation organisation, in 1977, and the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots programme in 1991,
• Jane is still working hard to raise awareness and funds to safeguard chimps, their habitats, and the earth we all share today.

Want to write for us? Submit your story here. You can also apply to become a news anchor. Apply here

Headline image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jane_Goodall_GM.JPG