Jane Goodall devoted her life to researching apes.
She grew up with a love for animals, which in turn helped shape her career path. Due to her love of animals, she devoted her life to studying apes, and even writing multiple books about or involving animals. Even after her death, she still has an impact on the animal world. People are still using her work and continuing on with the research that she had started. Valerie Jane Goodall was born in London, England, on April 3rd,1934.
Her parents were Margaret Myfanwe-Goodall, and Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall. Her mom was both a housewife, and later she became a novelist. Her father was a racecar driver, a businessman and also served in the Army.
During the wartime, she didn’t get to see much of her father. Her parents divorced in 1950. Jane also had a younger sister, Judy. Her father was the person who sparked her interest in animals and apes.
Jane showed her love of animals as a young child. When she was about one year old her father give her a stuffed ape and she carried it around with her everywhere. She had a lot of animals like dogs, cats, guinea pigs, caterpillars, snails, and a hamster during her childhood. When she was four years old, her parents had a scare and reported her missing. However, they found her hours later, in the henhouse, where she was watching the hens to see how they laid their eggs. Her love of animals started at a very young age, which sparked her wanting to learn as much about animals as she could. In 1957, she went to visit a friend in Africa, and this friend was the one who persuaded her to encourage the famed paleontologist, Louis Leakey.
When Jane was older she went into a few main fields of study such as Primatologist , Ethologist , and Anthropologist. Primatologist basically means the study of apes. Ethologist means the behaviours of animals. Anthropology is the study of physical and cultural development. Jane Goodall’s main force of study was figuring out if apes had something to do with evolution.
She devoted her life to living among the chimps, studying them in their natural environment. As such, Jane learned a great deal about chimps. She figured out that apes also used tools, like fishing food out of holes.
Before Jane did her research, people thought tool-making was the one thing that separated humans from animals. Some interesting facts about Jane Goodall was that she discovered that chimps are not vegetarian, she was accepted University to the of Cambridge, though she wrote many books two of those were,Through a Window in April 21, 2000 and In the Shadow of Man in April 7, 2010. She was the first scientist to name her subjects.
Jane was always interested in animals from a young age. She had a wildlife journal. Jane Goodall researched 200 apes. Jane did her research for 55 years.Jane Goodall had a few problems in the beginning like trying to observe the apes but they would scatter. In 1986, Jane went to a conference in Chicago and at that time she became an advocate for animal rights.
Jane obtained a Doctorate without receiving a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree. Many different scientist have rebuilt on Jane Goodall research. A group of scientists called Jane Goodall Institute or JGI, are still building on her research today.Doctor Jane Goodall paved a way for women researchers throughout her years of commitment, research, trials and errors, and advocacy towards animals. It is obvious that she had a passion for what she did and it shows throughout the continued research that others have continued to do through the JGI. “If you really want something, and really work hard, and take advantage of opportunities, and never give up, you will find a way.
” By Jane Goodall This speaks volumes about the type of person she was and the dedication she had to make her life into a difference for those animals she researched and cared about. It also speaks volumes to those who have to work hard to achieve greatness.