For centuries there were fearsome tales of a half
human monster roaming the African forests
Even in modern times, knowledge of the elusive creature
the wild chimpanzee- was largely based on speculation
Then, in 1960 a daring young Englishwoman
set out to sort fiction from truth
She had been warned
"You'll never get near the chimpanzees,"
but she was determined to try
Her name, Jane Goodall
She was 26 years old and destined to make scientific history
Against odds many thought insurmountable
she gradually earned the chimpanzees' trust
The picture that has emergedis an awesome
portrait of the animals most like man
The similarities to humans are startling:
The obvious physical resemblance;
the discovery that they hunt and eat meat;
the even more profound revelation that they are intelligent enough
to make and use tools
and in their nonverbal communication
perhaps the most uncanny resemblance of all
Meticulously documented on motion-picture film
Jane Goodall's classic study stretches from 1960 to the present day
A compelling chronicle that spans three generations of chimps
it is the longest study of any wild animal group in the world
Unexpectedly one of its recent chapters took a forbidding turn
The usually gentle
amiable chimps revealed a dark and sinister side
- puzzling, savage behavior as yet unexplained
And so the saga goes on - the emarkable adventure of the wild
chimpanzees and the dedicated woman who works among them still
Growing up in Bournemouth, England, Jane Goodall
was drawn to the world of animals almost from the start
When her mother gave the infant a chimp doll
outraged friends predicted nightmares
They could not have been more wrong
"Even when I was very tiny I was absolutely fascinated by animals
I think I first began to dream of going to Africa after reading
Dr. Doolittle and Tarzan when I was about eight
I was absolutely fascinated with the idea of being out in the jungle
out with the animals feeling a part of it all."
Famed anthropologist Louis Leakey had long searched for someone
to study wild chimpanzees for clues to the behavior of early man
"I want someone unbiased by academic learning," he said
"Someone with uncommon patience and dedication."
His faith in Jane Goodall would lead to one of the most important
scientific studies of our time
Her journey would take Goodall to the East African country of Tanzania
then known as Tanganyika
The remote Gombe Stream Game Reserve stretches for about
ten miles of rugged
mountainous country along the shore of Lake Tanganyika
And so on the 14th of July 1960 Jane Goodall was 4,000 miles from home
a tiny boat her only link to the civilized world
"When I arrived at the Gombe Stream Reserve
I felt that at long last my childhood ambition was being realized
But when I looked at the wild and rugged mountains where
the chimpanzees lived
I knew that my task was not going to be easy."
Day-to-day life in this remote wilderness would be difficult at best
The local authorities
horrified at the thought of a young white woman alone in the wild
at first refused Jane permission to come
agreeing only when she said she would bring a companion
Aside from her mother Vanne Goodall, and an African cook
Jane would spend the next several months virtually alone
It was already late afternoon
when the tents were pitched and provisions stored
But after 20 years of dreaming of this day
Jane was eager to begin
Unarmed and untrained she ventured into a strange, new world
For most, this would be a lonely forbidding realm
But for Jane Goodall it was where she most wanted to be
"During my first days at Gombe I could hardly believe it was true
At last I was out in the wild I didn't see many animals
but I had the feeling they were there all around, watching me
There were rustles in the undergrowth strange calls
smells I could not identify."
For months
the objects of her search invariably fled at the mere sight of her
Often she couldn't find them at all
It was a steep rigorous climb to the open ridges above
but perhaps, she hoped a way to pinpoint the nomadic apes below
"I discovered not far from camp
that there was a peak overlooking two valleys
And from this vantage point I was able to gradually piece together
the daily behavior of the chimps
The major advantage of the Peak was that the chimps could see me
sitting up there and gradually get used to my presence."
Sitting quietly in the same spot day after day
always dressed in the same neutral colors
never attempting to follow the shy apes
the figure on the Peak gradually became less of a threat
It would be some time, however before Jane was accepted at closer range
Though the chimps now recognized the intruder
her intent was far from clear
Jane had to accept the realization that
for the being being at least
much of her knowledge would be based on indirect evidence
like an abandoned sleeping nest high in the trees
Jane found the nest was not simply a pile of wadded leaves
but a carefully interwoven platform created by dextrous hands
and a reasoning brain
But the intelligent creature who made it had long since moved on
lmpatient with her slow progress with the chimps
Jane stretched each day to the final rays of the setting sun
This would be her first meal in 12 hours
It had been another long and frustrating day
"As I am not a defeatist it only made my determination
to succeed stronger
I never had any thought of quitting
I should forever have lost all self-
respect if I had given up."
And so
days that began before dawn reached well past midnight
And, for as long as it would take
tomorrow would be the same
Even when there were no chimps to be found
there was always much to be done
Samples of plants the chimps eat
would be preserved for later identification
There was a new language to learn tribal customs to absorb
A makeshift clinic helped cement good relations
with the local villagers
With camp life settling into a comfortable routine
Gombe increasingly became Jane Goodall's private world
Though her staff was growing
outsiders til now had not been welcome
lest they frighten the chimps
But at Louis Leakey's urging
she agreed that a permanent film record of the chimps be made
To shield herself and the cameraman
she built a blind - a screen of leaves
Hugo van Lawick is a specialist in wildlife
Primarily funded by the National Geographic Society
over the coming years he and Goodall would capture
details of chimp behavior never before dreamed possible
They found that chimpanzees are nomadic
traveling in ever changing groups in the daily search for food
wanderings that can take them two to six miles in a single day
They are animals of dramatic extremes
noisy and excitable one minute calm and gentle the next
To satisfy their hunger on a diet that is largely vegetarian
chimps eat up to seven hours a day
Much of their diet is fruit but they also feed on leaves
blossoms, seeds, and stems
After congregating at a food source
several individuals may rest and groom together
then separate once again
The only stable group within the community is a mother and her young
Males take no part in child rearing
Contrary to common belief chimps do not have fleas
Mutual grooming does remove flakes of dried skin and grass seeds
but physical contact for its own sake seems to be the primary goal
Not much interested in quiet pursuits
youngsters have better things to do
"The chimps very gradually
came to realize that I was not dangerous after all
I shall never forget the day after about 18 months when
for the first time
a small group allowed me to approach and be near them
Finally I had been accepted
I think it was one of the proudest
and most exciting moments of my whole life
Chimpanzees are as distinct from one another as are human beings
and Jane gave them names as she came to recognize them
Old Flo, with her bulbous nose and ragged ears
is matriarch of the family Jane would come to know best
At seven weeks, infant Flint is still completely dependent on Flo
Flo's adolescent son Figan plays with his younger sister Fifi
Even fully mature Faben often stays with the family
Ever since Flint's birth
his sister Fifi has been fascinated by the baby
Repeatedly she tries to touch and groom him
The older chimps less interested in babies
tend to ignore Flint
But Fifi is persistent
actually trying to take the infant from Flo
Though protective of her newborn Flo is never rough with Fifi
When she's had enough she simply walks off
leaving Fifi looking rather frustrated
Another group's arrival is signaled by a chorus of hooting calls
Adult males dominate chimp society and are much precoccupied with
their position in the hierarchy
In an effort to better his rank the male puts on an awesome charging display
With hair bristling and vegetation flying
the male makes himself appear larger and more dangerous than he actually is
Intended to intimidate rivals
it is usually nothing more than superb bluff
After displays of aggression the dominant chimp often reassures those
who have been frightened or hurt
and thus tension is defused harmony restored
One male rose to the top of the hierarchy
by intelligence rather than strength
Mike discovered that rolling empty kerosene cans from Jane's camp
made a horrifying noise
Originally one of the lowest ranking males
Mike was now number one
Close to where they are feeding when dusk falls the chimpanzees will build
sleeping nests for the night 30 to 40 feet up in the trees
After choosing a suitable foundation such as a horizontal fork
the chimp takes only three to five minutes to bend down branches
then twigs, to create a comfortable, padded bed
With creature comforts long since forsaken
Jane found increasing pleasures in her wilderness world
But, as she soon discovered
human creature comforts were not without appeal to some
A chimp had wandered into camp
and found the supply tent where bananas were stored
Because he had been to camp before when Jane was in the forest
she had a prearranged signal to call her back
"It was thrilling after all this time to find a chimp actually in my camp
It was David Greybeard
a male I had already come to know out in the forest."
David's boldness marked a turning point for Jane
After the endless months she had searched for them
the chimps
following David's lead mow came to her
Gradually their inherent fear gave way
and an offer of friendship was accepted with trust
If she could lure the chimps into camp regularly
Jane realized her observations would be
far more consistent than chance encounters in the forest
Bananas were the answer
The scheme was not without its flaws as the local baboons quickly proved
David Greybeard repeatedly ran to his friend
the more powerful Goliath for protection
Goliath came to David's defense
but the baboon knew which chimp was afraid
and it was David he went for every time
Because of the trust established in camp
tracking the chimps in the forest was now much easier for Jane
She was able to follow and document in detail the development of
Flo's infant son, Flint
At six months
Flint is lerning to ride on his mother's back
But sometimes he doesn't get it quite right
At around the same age he takes his first tottering steps
When he stumbles and whimpers Flo quickly rescues him
Flo is a particularly affectionate
tolerant and playful mother
and because much maternal behavior is learned
she is the role model for her daughter Fifi
As Flint grows older
Flo permits Fifi to take him for brief periods of time
Such experiences provide important training for the future when young
females mature and have offspring of their own
About the time Flo begins to carry Flint on her back
Fifi tries to imitate Flo
Though unsuccessful
the attempt marks an important milestone in her learning experience
Mandy is a young female who has just had her first baby
Fifi has never seen the baby before and is intrigued
For the moment at least
this is something more interesting than Flint
As Mandy settles down
Fifi comes for a closer look at this newest member of the community
All youngsters at Gombe are interested in new babies
but Jane had never seen one who showed more fascination than Fifi
A study in concentration
Mandy is not worried by Fifi's presence
but when adolescent male Figan approaches she nervously moves off
Both Fifi and Figan are fascinated by the smell of the new baby
Fifi has followed Mandy up a tree and now attempts to touch the baby
Mandy gently fends her off
Meanwhile, even Flint is curious about another infant younger than he
But Flo is ready to move on in search of food
and she lets Flint know it is time to go
Fifi, still engrossed with Mandy's baby
does not notice that they leave
When she finally looks for her mother
Flo is out of sight
At six, Fifi is still quite dependent on her mother and cries in distress
She has no idea in what direction Flo has gone
Normally Flo would come at Fifi's cries
but apparently can't hear her above the growing storm
Although chimps seem miserable in the rain
surprisingly they make little effort to find shelter
Even in a torrential downpour they just sit and wait it out
Long committed to observing the chimps seven days a week
Jane ignored the rain
Searching for the lost Fifi she saw something remarkable instead
the male Goliath performing a spectacular display
Enthralled by the magnificent "rain dance,"
Jane would later write: "With a display of strength and vigor
such as this primitive man himself might have challenged the elements."
Twenty minutes later the rain dance was over as suddenly as it had begun
Among Goliath's audience Jane spotted Flo and Flint
From her tall lookout Fifi saw them too
Strong family ties
temporarily broken by the storm were once again intact
The rainy season brings the flight of fertile
winged termites as they leave their nests to establish new colonies
For chimp and baboon alike they are a tasty delicacy
But baboons can only capture the termites outside the nest
as the swarms emerge and fly
When they have gone and worker termites
have resealed the nest the baboons will move on
But the chimps not only know termites are there
hidden below the surface, they have learned how to get at them
In defense of their nest the termites grip onto the gras
and with utmost care the chimp gently draws them out
As a stem becomes bent
the chimp breaks off the end to make it work more efficiently
Sometimes a leafy twig is selected
but first it must be stripped of its leaves
In these actions
modifying natural objects for a specific purpose -
the chimp is not only using but actually making tools
It seems certain that this is a learned behavior passed
from generation to generation by watching and imitation
Flint does not yet know how to fish for termites
but already he imitates part of Flo's technique
Jane's proof that chimps make and use tools would rock
the scientific world
"Tool using always used to be
considered a hallmark of the human species
When Louis Leakey first heard about tool using at Gombe
he got extremely excited and said "Now we have to redefine man
redefine tool or include chimpanzees with humans."
A chimpanzee brain will never design a computer
nor even imagine a durable tool chipped from stone
But his brain is more similar
to our own than is that of any other living creature
And surely it was thus that our distant human ancestors began
learning to master the natural world
in the constant struggle to survive
To a thirsty chimp
rainwater trapped in the hollow of a tree is inviting
but not easily reached
Once again the chimps have learned to solve a problem by fashioning a tool
Wadded leaves act as a sponge
Chewing makes them more absorbent
Using the sponge
the chimp can get as much as
eight times more water than with fingers alone
Inherently curious, youngsters like Fifi learn from older chimps
and thus the technique is passed on
Baboons at Gombe outnumber the chimps by about four to one
For the most part the two species coexist peacefully
But the baboon is a competitor for food and friction can arise
Because he has the intelligence to use a weapon
yet another type of tool even a youngster can intimidate a fully grown male
The bluff works but as Jane would find out
sometimes the aggression is very real
A young baboon has been captured and killed by a group of chimps
and they will feast on its remains
Jane's discovery astounded the scientific world
the chimp is not the gentle vegetarian we had thought
but, like humans, a formidable predator
Sometimes cooperating to hunt and stalk their prey
they also kill young antelope
bushpigs, and monkeys
For the most part chimps eat meat only they themselves have killed
Indeed, a dead animal is often a puzzling sight
With Gombe's growing fame
visiting students and scientists became a regular part of the scene
One day, as part of a project to record chimpanzee calls
Jane put out bananas in great quantities
The result - an eruption of frenzied excitement
desperate begging, and violent aggression
Because of the excessive hostilities aroused
Jane disapproved of such human intervention
But the episode was not without value
revealing the intricate patterns of chimpanzee dominance and submission
and the chimps' intense need for reassurance by touch
The sounds of the encounter were carefully analyzed by students
specializing in chimp vocalization
With the passing years
Gombe drew students from around the world with interests ranging from
biology to communication to psychology
They came because of Jane and the unique opportunities
of the living laboratory she created here
To avoid future aggression over bananas
Jane devised a system of rationing by remote control
Now the chimps were fed only if they arrived alone or in small groups
and then just once in ten days
Apparently not happy with this new state of affairs
the ever-creative chimps made their wishes known
The chimps' presence in camp provided an opportunity for experiments
not possible in the forest
How would they react to something new?
All chimpanzees are intensely curious
but often afraid of the unfamiliar
For the first time, Flint attempts the typical male intimidation display
pulling vegetation and stamping
Later Jane put out a mirror
It was clearly a fascinating mystery
In retrospect, Jane will say that had she known
her study would continue indefinitely
she would not have encouraged contact between herself and the chimps
For one thing, they are stronger than humans and
if they lose their fear, dangerous
Indeed, in the future
Jane would minimize all interaction with the chimps
But for the moment
after the long struggle for acceptance
David's silent consent to be groomed was a prize beyond measure
In 1966 tragedy strikes
An epidemic spreads from a nearby village
and Gombe awakes to the devastation of polio
"Nothing that has happened at Gombe
befoe or since has been as horrible nothing
They were among the darkest days of my life; a living nightmare
The worst tragedy was old Mr. McGregor
He lost the use of both his legs
and he could only move by pulling himself along the ground by his arms
The other chimps were frightened
by this strangeness and shunned old Gregor
Only his close relative Humphrey, stayed nearby
The mother, Olly
has lost her month-old infant to the disease
Though she knows he is not alive
she carries his dead body for three days
Polio vaccine is flown in and fed to the chimps in bananas
but for many it is too late
Flo's son, Faben, paralyzed in one arm
protects it by walking long distances upright
To get food Mr. McGregor had learned to pull himself into trees
with the strength of his arms alone
But he dislocated a shoulder while trying to climb
and now can no longer move at all
Jane knew she had but one choice
Her longtime friend must be shot
But 1967 would bring joy
Married three years Hugo and Jane now had a son
Little Hugo, nicknamed Grub
would grown up in a world most children never even see
Spending less time at work to be with Grub
Jane modeled her behavior after the patient
afectionate chimp mothers she had long observed
"Gombe was the ideal place to raise a child," she said
"You could focus on the important things in life: Family
unity with all living creatures being part of the natural world."
As she watched her own son grow
Jane continued to track the development of Flo's son
Flint, who was now four and a half
Pregnant with her fifth child
Flo was increasing her attempts to wean Flint
Typical of youngsters his age
he resisted - still trying to suckle and demanding
to ride on Flo despite his large size
When denied his way
Flint threw violent temper tantrums
even hitting and biting his mother
"Perhaps because she was too old to cope
Flo often gave in and let Flint have his way
Later, this would have grave consequences."
Later that year, the baby was born and Jane named her Flame
Still attached to the placenta
Flame was just a few hours old
Because females give birth only once every five to six years
a newborn always stirs much curiosity among the youngsters
Jane wondered what the birth would mean to Flint
Flint's behavior would be expected to change with the new arrival
but instead he was getting worse
"Even after the birth of his sibling
when most youngsters become more independent
Flint continued to pester his mother for attention
And, more often than not Flo gave in to his demands."
Even with Flame at Flo's breast
Flint sometimes tried to suckle
Six months later while Flo was ill
Flame disappeared never to be seen again
With no baby to care for now
Flo stopped even trying to encourage Flint's independence
Jane wondered if he would remain an infant forever
Life expectancy of a wild chimpanzee is guessed at forty to fifty years
Flo, now well past 40, was feeble and worn
spending most of her time resting quietly near Flint
"Although I knew that Flo had become very old indeed
it was still a sad day when I found her dead body lying in the stream
For me it was like losing an old friend
For Flint it was like losing his whole world
Flint stayed by himself close to the place where Flo had died
He ate very little
He became increasingly lethargic and depressed
And, finally, in this state of grieving
he grew sick
Three and a half weeks after losing his mother
Flint died too."
Today the name Jane Goodall is almost synonymous with animal research
Accomplished author speaker, and now a PhD
she is sought all over the world
A rarity among scientists
she has become a celebrity in her own right
"...he wasn't having it at all
He wanted to follow his adolescent brother."
Wherever she goes on her annual lecture tours
eager crowds gather to hear the latest chapter
in the lives of the chimps
"Any new, particular new developments new behavior of the chimps?"
"Two quite interesting new developments
One is concerned with territoriality..."
Though she welcomes the opportunity to share her world
Jane keeps her visits short
Gombe is where she most wants to be
With her on this trip are her mother returning for a nostalgic visit
and Grub, now 15
Though not even Jane could have predicted
her study would last this long
it is 22 years since she first set foot on Gombe's shores
In that time the country has gone from British rule to independence;
Gombe once a game reserve is now a national park
But friendships that span more than two decades remain unchanged
Today permanent structures have replaced Jane's lakeshore tent
and a staff of ten Tanzanian field assistants
has been trained to help observe the chimps
The men work in teams of two and follow the animals seven days a week
In recent years they, along with Jane
withessed a startling turn of events
Like Gombe itself, the chimps, it seemed had changed too
"If I'd left, as Louis Leakey predicted
after ten years, we would have had a very different picture
of the chimpanzees to that which we have today
People's idea of the gentle
noble savage would have been exemplified by the way of
life of the chimps
I started off studying one community and in 1972 that community
divided into two and one part of it moved down into the south of
the range that the whole community had shared
Two years later a series of events began which were amongst the most
horrifying we have seen at Gombe
The males of the larger asakela community
the one's that we are studying today
systematically began to hunt down individuals of the smaller
southern community to attack them when they found them on their own
or in small groups and within a full year period every one
of the seven males and at least one of the three females
who had moved to the south had disappeared."
"The sequence of events that occurred during this warfare
were really shocking because these attacks were not over in one minute
They lasted 20 minutes
They were gang attacks where between three and six adult males
together attacked one victim
The victim was rendered senseless virtually crouching on the ground
not even trying to fight back
And yet they would pound him they would drag him
they would bite him they would smash him
One of them had a broken leg
One of them had a great piece of skin ripped from his thigh
And these were very very brutal attacks
and I think it's a bit horrifying to consider that just
because we now know how aggressive the chimpanzee can be
this makes them even more like humans than I thought they were before."
Only because Jane stayed on at Gombe was the warfare discovered
Only because she remains there still may it one day be explained
While the male gang violence was a profoundly dramatic event
much of Jane's work continues to revolve around the subtle intricacies
of day-to-day family life
Her observations of Flo and Flint taught her just how powerful
a mother's influence can be
In the ten years since Flo died
Jane has followed her family into its third generation
Flo's daughter, Fifi is now a mother herself
Like Flo, Fifi is an extremely playful and tolerant mother
Her son, Frodo, bears a striking resemblance to his dead uncle Flint
Young Fanni evokes images of Fifi herself as a child
And in adolescent Freud a visible reminder of Figan as he matured
"Gremlin now watches Frodo
Getty much more active than he used to be."
As she watches Getty
the youngest member of the Gomber community secure in his mother's arms
Jane reflects on ten other infants who
over the course of four years met a gruesome fate
"There was one extremely horrifying day
I was in Dar es Salaam
and we were contacting Gombe by radio as we used to do every morning
And this strange message came over that the adult female Passion
and her adolescent daughter
Pom, had seized a newborn infant from Gilka
Gilka, one of the polio victims
a chimp I'd known since she was one year old
And that this mother Passion had killed the baby
and she and her daughter and her son had shared the body between them
And I found this almost impossible to believe
But when I got to Gombe a week later it was indeed true
And over the next four years Passion and her daughter Pom were known
to kill and eat three newborn babies
They were watched as they tried but failed to catch two more
And we suspect that in that four years
in fact, they were responsible for the deaths
of ten newborn babies."
Jane had always described Passion as "a somewhat unnatural mother"
cold and indifferent, indeed often callous to her youngsters
Yet Jane could not possibly have predicted that Passion
would become a killer
attacking with aggression so violent that she paid no attention to human
observers even when they tried to intervene
"Why did they do it? I really have no idea
I suspect that it was an aberrant behavior shown first
by the mother imitated by the daughter
It was, perhaps, the hardest thing to understand and to accept
that's ever happened at Gombe
And the descriptions of the attacks on these mothers are some of
the most moving and horrifying descriptions that have taken place
in all the 22 years
For instance, when passion, together with Pom
two strong females, attacked Melissa with her three-week-old baby
Melissa's daughter Gremlin
much younger than Pom, ran over to the two field
assistants who were watching this horrifying struggle
stood upright, looked into their eyes
looked back at the scene, and really seemed to be begging for help
But Passion and Pom were strong
stronger than Melissa, and they managed to seize the baby
leaving Melissa terribly badly wounded
The moment they had the baby and had killed it
when Melissa went up to watch as they ate it
Pasion reached out embraced and kissed her as though
I have no quarrel with you."
I wanted your baby
Now I'm content
And as I say we just do not understand this behavior
Hopefully now the behavior is finished
Passion is dead
Pom has shown no signs of doing this and, indeed
on her own isn't capable of attacking another female
and stealing her baby."
For now the warfare is over the cannibalism has ceased
Gombe is quiet again but for the eternal sounds of the African night
Then on a summer evening in 1982
a joyous chorus of human voices pervades the dark
an anniversary party celebrating 22 years of research at Gombe
To share this night, some have come by boat
others have walked for miles
With traditional feasting and speeches
they join together to toast the future and celebrate the past
"Well, after 22 years I have many
many fond memories of Gombe
Perhaps the one that I like to think back on most
was after having struggled
crawled through the undergrowth
climbed up to the Peak and down again
and searched, and being rewarded
yes by seeing chimps, but chimps
that ran away every time I went up to them -
to have a chimpanzee just sit there
and watch me and know that I was there and not mind
That was a very, very wonderful moment
It was a tremendous feeling of accomplishment
and exhilaration and pride in the fact that I'd been accepted
And then a rather different kind of memory was the first time
that a wild chimpanzee mother came up to me
and allowed her infant to reach out with
that wondering expression in his eyes to touch me
And that, of course, was Flo with her infant Flint
And that's another moment I'll never forget."
And though it often seems a lifetime ago
she remembers them all three generations of chimps
who allowed her the privilege of entering their private world
Wild animals roaming free
who permitted a human to live among them as a friend
Today, the direction of the study lies uncharted
ahead to be written by the chimps themselves
It is a future Jane Goodall embraces with anticipation and a personal dream
"I hope to stay at Gombe for as long as I can struggle around the mountains
and even after that I would hope
that I can train somebody to follow in my footsteps
so that when I'm an old and doddering lady
I can still hear about Melissa's grandchildren
and Fifi's successors and be happy in my old age."
When Louis Leakey told Jane her study might last ten years
it sounded like a lifetime
and privately she thought "three years at mos."
Already into her third decade at Gombe
the pioneer who dared to be accepted by wild animals
and won has no intention of leaving now