Jane Goodall

Valerie Jane Morris Goodall, Ph.D., DBE (born April 3, 1934) is an English primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist, probably best-known for conducting a forty-year study of chimpanzee social and family life, as director of the Jane Goodall Institute in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.

Professional accomplishments

Goodall was instrumental in the recognition of social learning, thinking, acting, and culture in wild chimpanzees, their differentiation from the bonobo, and the inclusion of both species along with the gorilla as Hominids.

Related Topics:
Learning - Thinking - Bonobo - Hominid

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One of Goodall's major contributions to the field of primatology was the discovery of tool use in chimpanzees. She discovered that some chimpanzees poke twigs into termite mounds. The termites would grab onto the stick with their mandibles and the chimpanzees would then just pull the stick out and eat the termites. Previously, only humans were thought to use tools.

Related Topics:
Tool - Termite

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Goodall also flouted traditional conventions of the time in her study of primates by naming the animals she studied, instead of assigning each a number, a nearly universal practice at the time, and thought to be important in the removal of one's self from the potential for emotional attachment to the subject being studied.

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Goodall is an advocate for environmental and humanitarian causes, having served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2002. She was named a Dame of the British Empire (DBE) in a ceremony held in Buckingham Palace in 2004.

Related Topics:
United Nations - Dame of the British Empire - Buckingham Palace

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She has also appeared (cast as herself) in an episode of Nickelodeon's animated series The Wild Thornberrys entitled "The Trouble With Darwin". She's also a character in Irregular Webcomic!'s "Steve and Terry" theme. A parody of Goodall featured as a diamond-hoarding chimpanzee slave driver in an episode of The Simpsons.

Related Topics:
Nickelodeon - The Wild Thornberrys - Irregular Webcomic! - The Simpsons

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She is on the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine.

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