Hanging Out With Chimps
These African apes are smart, social—and always surprising.
"Where's Jane?" No one knew. Four-year-old Jane Goodall had vanished. Her mother searched the English countryside for hours. No luck. It was time to call the police.
Then someone came running. Yes, it was Jane. She smelled awful. She had straw all over her clothes. And she was smiling.
Jane had been in a chicken coop. Why? Well, she wanted to see how a hen lays eggs. So she sat for hours—waiting and watching.
Jane's mother didn't get mad. She listened and supported Jane's curiosity. That encouragement sparked a great career.
FROM CHICKENS TO CHIMPS
As Jane Goodall grew, so did her passion for nature. She saved up and went to Africa. There she met Louis Leakey, a famous scientist.
In 1960 Leakey sent Goodall to a place called Gombe (GAHM bee). It's a wildlife reserve in the country of Tanzania (tan zuh NEE uh). Goodall's job was to study chimpanzees, a type of ape. To do so, she hiked steep hills and crawled through thick forests. At first the apes ran off anytime they saw Goodall. But, after a while, they got used to her.
Goodall watched eagerly—hour after hour, day after day. She took careful notes. Her work gave the world a new picture of chimps.
AT WORK IN THE WILD
Understanding chimps is a huge task. Goodall created the Gombe Stream Research Centre in 1965 so others could help.
Gombe researchers eat breakfast before dawn, then trek into the woods. Meanwhile the chimps are asleep—high in the trees. They will wake up at first light. So researchers need to be nearby.
What happens next? Well, that's up to the chimpanzees. Researchers usually follow an individual or a small group. One scientist, for instance, studies how chimps care for their young. So she focuses on a mom and kids.
FOLLOW THAT CHIMP!
Keeping up with chimpanzees is a challenge. Fortunately, they take plenty of breaks. Chimps pause to eat, play, nap, and enjoy being together. Like humans, they're truly social animals.
Chimps spend a lot of time grooming—carefully searching through each other's hair. They pick out any dirt or pests. Grooming relaxes chimps. It strengthens their friendships too.
Sunset is bedtime. Up in the trees, chimps make nests out of branches and leaves. Soon they fall asleep. Then the researchers trudge home. Another wild day is over.
EXTREME SCIENCE PROJECT
Like all scientists, Gombe researchers collect data or facts. Some carry checklists of chimpanzee actions. At set times, the person notes what an ape is doing.
Each night the researchers create a map. It shows where people saw chimps that day.
Researchers also use cameras, video recorders, and other high-tech tools. Yet the heart of the job remains simple: You watch chimps. You write about chimps. You think about chimps.
All those checklists, maps, notes, photos, and videos add up to a mound of information. Observing chimps at Gombe has become one of the most important animal studies ever.
BIG DISCOVERY
Jane Goodall got a huge surprise her very first year at Gombe. She watched chimps "fish" for termites. The chimps gently poked twigs and grass stems into a termite nest. Sometimes they stripped leaves from the twigs. In other words, the chimps made and used tools!
That was major news. Humans had believed that only people made tools. Some scientists refused to believe Goodall until she photographed the apes in action.
Chimps use other tools as well. To get water from hollows in branches or logs, they make "sponges" by scrunching up leaves. In some places, chimps use rocks to crack nuts open.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Chimpanzees are intelligent. They can be tender. And they can be brutal. Does that remind you of any other species? Yes, chimps and humans are alike in some amazing ways.
Most chimpanzee mothers are protective, affectionate, and playful. So are older brothers and sisters. They help care for babies. Sometimes chimps even "adopt" orphans.
But chimps are not always appealing. In the 1970s, a deadly war broke out between chimp groups. One group got wiped out. And mothers sometimes kill and eat others' babies.
"When I first started at Gombe," Goodall said, "I thought the chimps were nicer than we are. But time has revealed that they are not." Like humans, chimpanzees are good, bad, and complicated.
TOMORROW AT GOMBE
Gombe Stream Research Centre began as one woman with guts and binoculars. Now it includes dedicated researchers and visiting scientists. Before sunrise tomorrow, they'll head back into the forest for more chimp-watching.
Jane Goodall probably won't join them. Since 1985 she's spent most of her time on the road. She tells people around the world about chimpanzees—and the need to save them.
Text by Peter Winkler
This article appears on pages 4-7 of our September 2002 issue.
Glossary Words: ape | data | groom | species
LINKS
>> National Geographic Creature Feature: Chimpanzees
Movies, maps, photos, and sound effects tell you more about these awesome animals.
>> Jane Goodall Institute
Learn more about this famous scientist and get details about chimpanzee life.
>> Roots & Shoots
Want to make a difference? Start a Roots & Shoots group and find ways to help people, animals, and the environment!
>> Discover Chimpanzees
Tour Gombe via 3-D images, meet Gombe chimps, and learn about life as a chimp researcher.
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