![]() ![]() For one thing I found that there are good and less good mothers in chimpanzee society, as in our own. I learned much from the chimpanzees, from whom we differ genetically by only just over 1 percent. Chimps are our closest relatives, so what do they do differently and better? It’s been said humans are the only animal to foul our nests. ![]() I also realized early on, once I had started to gain some notoriety, that the future careers of many women rested on my shoulders, and that if I could show them the way and open those doors for them, then it would be that much easier for the next generation of women scientists to break into their chosen field in a substantial way. Yes, I had to work 10 times harder than the average man just to get the same level of recognition, but once I had made a name for myself, I let the data speak for me. I believed in my work and knew that if I could just get a seat at the table then I would be able to quiet any detractor with the data I had collected. You had to deal with a lot of sexism, especially early in your career. One’s work won’t always feel fulfilling or meaningful, so I believe that finding meaning in the little details or the small victories is key to a sustained career. Whenever I came back to the base camp in the early months discouraged by not finding any chimps, she would remind me that I was learning much more than I realized: their eating habits, sleeping patterns, daily foraging paths. When I was eventually allowed to begin my study in Gombe, she even came with me and encouraged me to keep going. We are part of and not separated from the rest of the animal kingdom - we are not the only sentient, sapient beings on the planet.Īfter more than six decades of research, what’s your best advice for sustaining a long career?Įven before I ever stepped foot in Africa, my mother would always tell me that if I truly wanted something, then I would have to work hard for it and never give up. That we humans have been terribly arrogant. If you could share one fact about your research, what would it be? And if we don’t stop our reckless behavior, then there won’t be a future for our children to inherit. There is an old saying that goes, “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” But I don’t believe we’re “borrowing” the planet from our children - we’re stealing it from them. In short, what drives me are my own grandchildren and youth all around the world. Rolling Stone caught up with Goodall, 86, for our special Climate Issue before the outbreak shut down the planet. Goodall’s work has changed our basic understanding of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. “We are now feeling the true cost of wildlife trafficking.”ĭr. She recently wrote an op-ed in Slate that correctly points out that COVID-19 should be a wake-up call for how we interact with the natural world: “The global demand for wildlife, the destruction of the natural world, and the spread of diseases are already having a catastrophic effect on the world as we know it,” she wrote. ![]() Instead, like the rest of the world, she’s practicing social isolation at home in England. Famed anthropologist, conservationist, and activist Jane Goodall should be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the start of her field work with chimpanzees in Tanzania. ![]()
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