Institute News Archives 2009
Jane's thoughts on the Connecticut tragedy: "Loving chimps to death"
11-12-2009 - JGI USA
By Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE
Last week in Stamford, Conn., a chimpanzee named Travis was shot and killed after he mauled a friend of his owner. The chimpanzee lived with a widow, eating lobster and ice cream at the table, wearing human clothes and entertaining himself with a computer and television.
But as the tragedy made clear, a chimpanzee can never be totally domesticated.
The human brain is more highly developed than that of any other living creature. So why can't we learn that wild animals simply do not make good "pets"?
I believe it has a great deal to do with the fact that chimpanzees are so frequently used in entertainment and advertising. Only a month ago, Americans watching the Super Bowl may have laughed at an ad in which chimpanzees dressed as mechanics worked on a car. They seemed cute, funny and even lovable. Is it any wonder viewers might think that chimpanzees would make great pets?
Click here to read more.
Fundraisers for JGI hit the streets in Toronto and Vancouver
21-09-2009
From September 21st - November 21st, JGI will be testing face-to-face fundraising in the Toronto and Vancouver markets. Our mission? To recruit donors for Team Goodall, our monthly giving program. In order to help us do this, JGI has engaged Public Outreach, a professional firm of fundraisers, chosen because of their excellent reputation, as well as their respectful and meaningful approach to donor recruitment. All of the canvassers were selected because of their interest in and passion for the work of JGI.
If you see them on a street near you, we invite you to quiz them about JGI. Please drop us a line and let us know how they did. The Public Outreach fundraisers will be wearing dark brown vests with the JGI logo on the front and back, and holding a binder with a picture of Dr. Goodall with a chimpanzee on the cover.
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Chimpanzee returned to forest after surgery
01-09-2009 - New Vision
Tom Achidri (JGI Uganda maintainence & security staff) and the 15 kg mantrap that caught Amaanyi's leg.
Amaanyi receving care from Dr. David Hyeroba at UWEC vet clinic |
A six-year-old chimpanzee called Amaanyi was returned to her home in Rweshama Forest Reserve in Masindi district on Sunday after being hospitalised in Entebbe for over a month. |
Click here to read the entire article.
An update on ChimpanZoo
07-08-2009 - JGI USA
As of July 1, 2009, JGI USA is temporarily scaling back the activities of the ChimpanZoo Research, Education and Enrichment Program. ChimpanZoo’s website will continue to operate and the program’s database and files are being relocated to the Institute’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
In the coming months, the Institute’s senior management and board will conduct a thorough assessment to determine the best structure for ChimpanZoo’s sustainable continuation into the future. Dr. Virginia Landau, vice president and director of ChimpanZoo for the past 21 years, will retire from her position, but will continue in an advisory capacity. In addition, she will be planning the 2010 ChimpanZoo conference and aiding in the celebration of Dr. Goodall’s career and the 50 years of continuous research of the wild chimpanzees at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. In September 2009, Dr. Landau will also speak at the Association of American Zoos and Aquariums meeting in Portland, Oregon. Erica Grimm, ChimpanZoo assistant director, will be leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Click here to read more.
JGI Canada launches new campaign with Roots
August 2 - October 31, 2009
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Roots recently selected JGI, and specifically the Roots & Shoots program, as its charity of choice for the Roots Cares employee engagement program. |
In September, Roots employees will also be joining other Roots & Shoots groups for a hands-on conservation activity at the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up (GCSC) - where people will join forces and pick-up garbage along shorelines in their community.
So if you are thinking about back-to-school shopping, think about a visit to Roots and help support JGI and Roots & Shoots at the same time. And while you're there, please let staff know that you appreciate their support. We want Roots to know they made an excellent choice in working with JGI!
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Jane Goodall named one of the top ten female scientist of all time!
02-07-2009 - Telegraph.co.uk
Dr. Jane Goodall was named one of the top ten female scientists of all time. Goodall was among only two modern- day scientists who made the list; the other was astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. The survey was commissioned by L'Oreal and administered by New Scientist magazine to 800 scientists and members of the general public.
The L'Oreal UNESCO For Women In Science awards programme is designed to promote and highlight the critical importance of ensuring greater participation of women in science, by awarding promising female scientists with fellowships to help them further their research.
Read the complete article.
Canadian and Ugandan teachers work together for the environment
July 2009
Due to the success of the past two trips to Uganda, two more teams of teachers travelled to Uganda in July! The purpose of the trip was to facilitate interactive workshops about teaching environmental education to primary school-aged children. Read more. Chris Wright from the Mabin School, April McGrath from Carleton University, Ingrid Giesinger from Loretto Abbey, Patricia Brown from St. Christopher’s Montessori School, and Monica Regan from the York House School were part of the adventure with the JGI Uganda Team. Read the July team's blog. |
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Call for submissions
June 2009
Dr. Goodall is writing a new foreword for "In the Shadow of Man" and she needs your help.
"In the Shadow of Man," originally published in 1971, has had an amazing influence on many people around the world, of all ages and in differing situations. Over the years Dr. Goodall and JGI staff have received many comments about the way the book changed lives; this is why she would like to include some of them in the new foreword.
Dr. Goodall is asking those of you who have read "In the Shadow of Man" to let her know how the book affected you. Did you make any changes after reading it? What were they? Some of the submissions collected will be included in the new chapters. The other comments will be included in a special section on the JGI website.
Please send your submissions to info@janegoodall.ca
Dr. Jane Goodall takes Rotary by Storm
24-06-2009
Dr. Jane Goodall addressed over 20,000 Rotarians from nearly 120 countries during her keynote address at the 100th International Rotary Convention in Birmingham, UK on June 24th.
Speaking against a backdrop of flags from around the world, Dr. Goodall shared her message that every individual matters and that every individual can make a difference each day. She highlighted how similar Rotary and Roteract are to her international youth service program, Roots & Shoots, and how collaboration in service is possible between the two organizations.
“That's what Rotarians are all about: seeing that appeal for help and doing something about it. We need teamwork, we need a network -- that’s what you have, that’s what we have," Dr. Goodall said. "Let's put the networks together, and together make this a better world. Together, let's create the change we must create if we care as we do about our children and grandchildren and theirs. Together we can help more young people to realize their dreams.”
Dr. Goodall is pleased to welcome Rotarians to learn more about the work of the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots.
To become involved with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots please visit: www.rootsandshoots.ca.
To learn more about the work of the Jane Goodall Institute please visit: www.janegoodall.ca.
Learn more about Dr. Goodall’s Rotary speech here and here.
Jane Goodall and Robert Bateman urge British Columbia to End Trophy Hunting of Bears
08-05-2009 - Pacific Free Press
| World renowned primatologist, environmentalist and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodall and internationally acclaimed artist Robert Bateman have joined the growing list of globally recognized voices calling for an end to the trophy hunting of bears in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest. “People from around the world believed that B.C. had protected the Great Bear Rainforest,” said Dr. Goodall. “To learn now that the B.C. government continues to allow the sport hunt of grizzly bears, and even the rare coastal black bear that carries the recessive gene that allows the Spirit bear to exist, is shocking.” |
Click here to read more.
JGI unveils long-term conservation plan for Greater Gombe Ecosystem
23-04-2009 - JGI USA
Building on the work we’ve been doing in the Kigoma region of Tanzania for the past 15 years, JGI and conservation partners including The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have completed a 30-year plan to guide restoration and preservation of the Greater Gombe Ecosystem (GGE). JGI worked with other wildlife and conservation experts, NGOs and government representatives in Tanzania to develop a plan that will preserve the ecosystem for the benefit of biodiversity, natural resources and sustainable human livelihoods. The ecosystem is home to Gombe National Park, site of Jane Goodall’s revolutionary study of chimpanzee behavior.
Click here to read more. |
Jane meets with villagers who participate in our TACARE program in Tanzania. (Photo: Michael Neugebauer)
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JGI scientist Dr. Lilian Pintea shares expertise at global event
19-03-2009 - JGI USA
JGI’s Director of Conservation Science Lilian Pintea recently traveled to India to attend a global sharing of information and expertise about the role of geospatial science in developing a sustainable planet. Dr. Goodall also attended the second Map World Forum, Feb. 10-13, in Hyderabad, India. Dr. Goodall and Dr. Pintea delivered the guest address at the forum and discussed JGI’s work with chimpanzees and our efforts to eliminate habitat loss and other threats to chimpanzees and improve human livelihoods around Gombe National Park in Tanzania. JGI uses 60-cm QuickBird (DigitalGlobe), AWiFS, Landsat TM/ETM+ and other satellite sensors along with ArcGIS (ESRI), Feature Analyst (Overwatch) and Imagine (ERDAS) software to map chimpanzee habitats and human land use patterns in the Greater Gombe, Masito-Ugalla and the larger Greater Mahale Ecosystem covering an area more than 20,000 sq km. Click here to read more. |
Dr. Lilian Pintea, Dr. Goodall with Sanjay Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of GIS Development Private Ltd., organizer of the World Map Forum. |
US Fish and Wildlife Service funds chimpanzee conservation planning in Tanzania
19-03-2009 - JGI USA
The future of chimpanzees is precarious in all of their 22 range countries – including Tanzania, where we continue Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking chimpanzee behaviour research and partner with villages to promote conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
Click here to read more. |
Flirt, a chimpanzee in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. (Photo: JGI) |
Biologists awarded NIH grant for research on stressors and offspring
19-03-2009 - JGI USA
Using data from JGI’s Gombe Stream Research Center, scientists will undertake a new study investigating stressors of wild chimpanzees and maternal behavior. Lincoln Park Zoo post-doctoral researcher Carson Murray, Ph.D., has received a $900,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to undertake this five-year research. She will work with Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D., and Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., both of Lincoln Park Zoo, as well as Martha McClintock, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago. Click here to read more. |
One of the families at Gombe: Gaia, Gremlin (mother) and twins. (Photo: A.Mosser/JGI) |
Canadian teachers lend a hand in Uganda!
March 2009
JGI Canada is organizing its second round of Environmental Education workshops for Ugandan teachers. The new team of Canadian teachers who will be assisting the JGI Ugandan team deliver the workshops is comprised of: Alissa Purves from Country Garden Montessori Academy, Newmarket, Ann Walters from Crofton House School in Vancouver, and Sue Ball from The Mabin School in Toronto. Check out their blog to follow their Ugandan adventures.
Read more about the July Team's adventures. |
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Watch the video "A Day at Tchimpounga Sanctuary"
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JGI supports the Tchimpounga chimpanzee sanctuary which currently houses more than 140 orphaned chimpanzees, victims of the bushmeat trade. This sanctuary provides a safe refuge where chimpanzees can be cared for and given the chance to live reasonably full lives in spacious conditions. Meet the Tchimpounga chimpanzees To become a Chimp Guardian click here. |
JGI’s staff in DRC works on, even amidst great insecurity
26-02-2009 - JGI USA
The JGI staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is working in the most challenging of conditions -- traveling to and among villages despite fighting nearby between militia forces and government forces.
In late January, the Rwandan army entered the eastern DRC to join the Congolese army against the Hutu-led militia known as the FDLR (Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda). Among the areas where fighting has occurred are three in North Kivu province where we have project sites – Lubero, Walikale, Pinga and Goma. The Goma incidents were only two miles from our offices.
Even with this insecurity and front lines changing from one day to the next, our staff continues to provide support for critically needed health services. “The situation in Goma is not very good, as there are a lot of soldiers moving through,” said project coordinator Dario Merlo. “There is a feeling of insecurity and concern the soldiers are not really under control. But our staff is doing well and we continue to work as usual.”
Click here to read more.
JGI's Debby Cox: rare vision and determination
15-02-2009 - JGI USA
Women who have dedicated their lives to protecting chimpanzees are known to be forces of nature, and Debby Cox is no exception. Founder of the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda, she has fought tirelessly for chimpanzees for more than 20 years. Her achievements were recognized this week when she was honored as a Member of the Order of Australia for her efforts to benefit and preserve chimpanzees. "She brings a rare combination of vision, pragmatism and most of all determination to the difficult task of chimp care and conservation," said Keith Brown, JGI’s Executive Vice President of Africa Programs. "Few people are held in such high esteem by the conservation community." |
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Click here to read more.
Youth Council member volunteering in Uganda
February 2009
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From February - April, 2009, Shannon Trebilcock is volunteering for JGI Uganda! Shannon is a member of the first Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership Council. During the month of February, she'll help to expand and promote JGI Uganda's "No Plastic Bags" campaign, and she'll also be working with local Roots & Shoots groups, learning how the program operates in Uganda and developing animal conservation factsheets to distribute to schools and groups. Come March 1st, Shannon will move to Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary to help care for the chimpanzees. Be sure to visit Shannon's blog to follow her adventures! Click here for more info about the Roots & Shoots program. |
