Chimps We Know
How it Started
In 1960, Jane Goodall arrived at the Gombe Stream Reserve in what was then Tanganyika. She was sent by Louis Leakey, as the first person to study the behaviour of wild chimpanzees. In her early years at Gombe, Jane found that chimps share behaviours and emotions once thought to be unique to humans. Chimps make and use tools for a variety of purposes, are capable of reasoned thought and problem solving, and show emotions such as joy and sadness, fear and despair, love and empathy. They also show true altruism and have vivid personalities.
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Out in the forests of Gombe, it took many months before the chimps got over their initial fear of the strange “white ape” that so suddenly appeared. Eventually however, one adult male, whom Jane named David Greybeard, lost his fear of Jane, becoming one of the first chimps to be individually known. |
David Greybeard’s family and friends have been observed and studied for the past 50 years by Jane and her fellow researchers and assistants. Several generations of chimpanzees have been known from birth to death and followed all their life in Gombe. There are a couple of other well-known chimpanzee “families”. Meet:
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