Primates

An updated, photo-filled account of a half century working with chimpanzees in East Africa by the renowned primatologist. In honor of the field site's fiftieth anniversary, Jane Goodall: 50 Years at Gombe is a compelling pictorial tribute to Dr. Goodall's life, her studies of chimpanzee behavior, and her unflagging efforts to motivate people to make this world a better place. With new pho­tographs and updated text throughout, this revised edition retraces five decades of compassion and discovery. Though the book covers a half century, the accomplishments of the past ten years alone have given the Jane Goodall Institute a great deal to celebrate. Recounted are endeavors at the Gombe field site including landmark research related to AIDS progression; establishing programs to improve sanitation, health care, and education in neighboring Tanzanian communities; and partnering with local people to pursue reforestation initiatives.

Dr. Goodall's adventure began when the famous anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey suggested that a long-term study of chimpanzees in the wild might shed light on the behavior of our closest living relatives. Accompanied by only her mother and her African assistants, she set up camp in the remote Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanzania. For months the project seemed hopeless; out in the forest from dawn until dark, she had but fleeting glimpses of frightened animals. But gradually she won their trust and was able to record previously unknown behavior, such as the use—and even the making—of tools, until then believed to be an exclusive skill of man. As she came to know the chimps as individuals, she began to understand their complicated social hierarchy and observed many extraordinary behaviors, which have forever changed our understanding of the profound connection between humans and chimpanzees.