No other primatologist3 has made the cover of National Geographic more than her. Her name is synonymous4 with the names Freud, and David Greybeard. Jane Goodall is more than just the “chimpanzee lady”. Her work gives new insight5 to our own humanness6 and humaneness7. We now have the knowledge to explore our own behaviors and emotions in a new light8. We share many things with chimpanzees. We share 98% of our DNA9 with chimpanzees. Chimps are omnivorous10. They can make and use tools. All of these behaviors were researched and observed by Dr. Jane Goodall for the last 38 years.

　　Before Africa

　　Jane was born in London, England on April 3, 1934. Her father, Mortimer, was an engineer. Her mother, Vanne, is an author.

　　Jane loved being outdoors. When she was a young girl, Jane spent as much time outside as she could. She would explore the various creatures that made their home in her big back yard. Jane loved the Tarzan11 stories. She read the Jungle Book and other stories that took place or were about Africa. She was fascinated by12 the mystique13 of the jungle. At the age of eleven, Jane decided that she wanted to go to Africa, maybe even live there.

　　Jane, as a child, had a very good relationship with her mother. Their good relationship continued, even as she fought her way to Africa, when no one else said she could do it. “My mother used to tell me, 'Jane, if you really want something, you work hard enough, you take advantage of14 opportunities, you never give up, you will find a way.'”

　　Africa

　　As a young lady, her passion15 grew stronger, and when a close friend invited her to Kenya in 1957, Jane readily16 accepted. Within a few months of her arrival she met the famed anthropologist17 and paleontologist18, Dr. Louis Leakey. One of Leakey's interests was to study wild chimpanzees in order to gain insight into the evolutionary19 past of humans. Goodall's patience and persistent20 desire to understand animals prompted21 Leakey to choose her for this pioneering study. In 1965, Goodall earned her PhD in Ethology22 from Cambridge University. Soon thereafter, she returned to Tanzania to continue research and to establish the Gombe Stream Research Centre.

　　Gombe

　　Jane has been doing research at Gombe for 38 years now. Neither she nor Louis Leakey believed it would blossom23 into what it has become.

　　Jane was prepared to go to the jungle on her own, to explore the lives of chimpanzees. The Tanzanian government in 1960 thought that it wasn't safe for a young English woman to venture24 deep into the jungle without a proper chaperone25; so her mother, Vanne went along.

　　Jane was very discouraged26 and depressed27 after only a few weeks at Gombe. The chimps would not let her within 50 yards of them, and she had observed very little. Jane was getting discouraged about the project. She had never done research with animals, and the chimpanzees were certainly not cooperating28 with her. Vanne kept her spirits up by sharing stories of newly discovered friends.

　　One day, a large male chimp wandered29 into the camp. He eyed the tent from a nearby tree. Suddenly, he began stomping30 and screaming31, as though he felt threatened. Jane soon realized the chimpanzee was eyeing a banana on the table just inside the tent. This would be Jane's chance to get close to the chimps. From that day on, bananas were kept nearby for any curious32 chimps.

　　This event encouraged Jane to keep trying to form a sense of deeper trust with the chimps. Everyday, Jane was allowed closer. It was just three months into the study before Jane made her first big discovery. She was observing a male chimp, (David Greybeard, she later determined) up a tree with something pinkish33 in his hands. Two smaller, female chimps were nearby with their hands stretched34 out, as if begging. Jane used her binoculars35 for a better look. David Greybeard was eating the pink object. He dropped the object, and it fell to the ground. Some bushpigs36 came screeching37 out of the greenery38, attacking David Greybeard. The pinkish object was a baby bushpig. David Greybeard was eating meat. This astounded39 Jane; chimpanzees had been thought of as herbivores40, who occasionally41 ate small bugs. Chimpanzees had never before been seen or recorded as eating meat. Like humans, chimps are omnivores42.

　　Jane wired Louis Leakey with this new discovery. He immediately sent more supplies and arranged for the project to be further funded. It was within weeks before Jane made another important discovery. David Greybeard was digging in a termite43 mound44. He was using a thick grass blade45 as a tool, which is pretty amazing, but had not been documented before in nonhumans46. This was the first recorded occurrence of tool manufacturing in nonhumans.