It gives me great pleasure to introduce this week’s guest blogger, Jackie Cangro, who is presenting her nominee for the Pilot Fish Trailblazer Award. As you will see in her post about Jane Goodall, Jackie is a superb writer who is passionate about animals.
We have a choice to use the gift of our lives to make a difference. It’s up to us to decide what kind of difference we are going to make. ~Dr. Jane Goodall
In the summer of 1960, twenty-six-year-old Jane Goodall was hiking to her favorite vantage point on a peak in Tanzania. She had been sent to this remote area known as Gombe by archaeologist Louis Leakey to study a group of wild chimpanzees. At the time, Jane had no training; she had only a notebook, binoculars, and a lot of patience.
What she didn’t know was that she was about to make a discovery that would change forever the way we see ourselves.
Jane had been there for weeks, living in a tent, an hour boat ride away from the nearest town. She started recognizing some of the chimpanzees, but they hadn’t allowed her to get very close. Then she spotted the chimp she’d named David Greybeard.
“I was following David Greybeard and I thought I’d lost him in a tangle of undergrowth. I found him sitting as though he was waiting, maybe he was. He was on his own. And I picked up this red nut and held it out on my palm. He turned his face away. I held my palm closer, and then he turned; he looked directly into my eyes. He reached out. He took it, but he didn’t want it. He dropped it, but at the same time, he very gently squeezed my fingers, which is how a chimp reassures. So there was this communication. He understood that I was acting in good faith. He didn’t want [the nut], but he wanted to reassure me that he understood. We understood each other without the use of words.”
Photo courtesy of The Jane Goodall Institute [www.janegoodall.org]
Not long after this came the breakthrough Jane was waiting for. She watched David Graybeard and another chimp named Goliath sitting next to a termite mound. They were using twigs to fish for termites, but first they stripped the leaves off so the twigs would fit into the mound. Perhaps this doesn’t sound noteworthy, given everything we now know about primate behavior, but it was groundbreaking. “It was hard for me to believe what I had seen,” Jane wrote. “It had long been thought that we were the only creatures on earth that used and made tools.”
Tool making in action! Gaia instructs her little sister how to fish for termites using the correct tool.
Some of Jane’s other discoveries:
- Chimpanzees live in complex social groups of up to fifty adult males, females and youngsters. There is one adult male leader of the group who may stay in charge for up to ten years.
- Chimpanzees are not solely herbivores. (They occasionally eat small mammals.)
- Many chimpanzee communication signals such as kissing, hugging, throwing rocks, laughing, and swaggering are done in the same context as human communication.
After nearly thirty years in the forest, the time had come for Jane to shift the focus of her work. Like any good trailblazer, she realized her help was needed elsewhere to save the chimpanzees. The numbers of chimpanzees have been dropping from more than one million when she landed in Gombe to less than an estimated 150,000 today. Poaching, medical research, and a loss of habitat have made our closest living relatives an endangered species.
Photo courtesy of The Jane Goodall Institute [www.janegoodall.org]
These are topics that could certainly lead one to despair. Yet her unwavering optimism is contagious, and another one of the reasons I admire her. “It is the undeniable qualities of human love and compassion and self-sacrifice that give me hope for the future,” she said.
Now, at age 81, Jane travels around the world educating adults and kids alike. The Jane Goodall Institute carries on research in Gombe National Park and works with children in 130 countries. She started the Tchimpounga Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of Congo for baby chimpanzees orphaned by poachers.
Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives. And most of what we understand about them has come from Jane Goodall. She has bridged the divide between humans and animals, changing the way we think about them—and ourselves.
We are part of the animal kingdom, not separated from it. ~Dr. Jane Goodall.
The chimpanzees give Jane two thumbs up as a trailblazer. How about you?
To learn more:
Books for adults:
Goodall, Jane. In the Shadow of Man, revised edition, Mariner Books, 2000.
Goodall, Jane, and Phillip Berman. Reason for Hope. Grand Central Books, 1999.
Books for young readers:
McDonnell, Patrick. Me…Jane. Little. Brown, 2011.
Edwards, Roberta. Who Is Jane Goodall? Grosset & Dunlap, 2012.
This is the fourth in a series of articles about forward thinkers who are helping to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges. These remarkable people are helping to define the future direction of their community, country, and even our global society. To read more about the Pilot Fish Trailblazer Awards and the nominees Dr. Fred Sanger, Paolo Soleri, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, click on the embedded links and suggest new nominees in the comments section below. And to learn more about our guest blogger, Jackie Cangro, click on the embedded link.
Categories: Pilot Fish Trailblazer Awards
P.A. Moed 
She is one of my heroines. I met her years ago, and it was transformational. I was in a small group where we could ask her questions and just be with her presence. Great choice…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Sally. Wow! You met her. So did Jackie. She also said the experience was amazing.
LikeLike
Yes, it certainly was memorable event.
LikeLike
I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Goodall in person also. It was a wonderful experience I won’t soon forget. I just wanted to hug her, but I restrained myself. 😉
LikeLike
Oh, she was so gracious and free with her answers to an intimate discussion of about a half a dozen of us. I understand your reaction.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m so thrilled to have my nomination included for the Trailblazers Award, Patti! I love to spread the word about Jane Goodall and her work on behalf of the chimpanzees. She and her team are working tirelessly to save them in the wild. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jackie. I’m so glad to include your “voice” and thoughts here. You write so movingly about Jane and make a wonderful case about how she has changed our view of ourselves as well as the chimpanzee. Jane’s convictions and passion have really made a difference.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such an inspiring woman. To say that the world is a different place today because of Jane Goodall is no lie. We need many more of her calibre!
LikeLiked by 2 people
She has such a deep well of unwavering hope and perseverance. Inspiring, indeed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi DeWets! I’m delighted to hear your thoughts about Jane and so glad she has your vote. If you think of someone else that you’d like to nominate, just let me know.
LikeLike
Brilliant, she’s one of my favorites.
LikeLiked by 2 people
She is truly amazing. Thanks, Maria, for your vote!
LikeLike
Excellent nomination, Jackie. I didn’t know you met her! That would be truly amazing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I did, Carole! It was a very brief meeting. I have a grainy, blurry photo of that moment that I treasure..
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great article. I first got to know about Jane Goodall’s work in the 80s when I lived in Tanzania. Another book not mentioned is ‘Harvest for Hope” – A guide to Mindful Eating. 2006
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Jules. Thanks for the book recommendation. How wonderful that you lived in Tanzania for a while. It’s great having that perspective too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is a terrific book recommendation. I read Harvest for Hope several years ago and I’d like to reread it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Loved this! Can you believe she came here to speak in the past few years (at our synagogue) and I missed it!? Ugh!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ohhh. Too bad, Nina. Don’t you hate when you miss those opportunities! Who have you seen that you still think about? I think one of my favorites was Maya Angelou.
LikeLike
If she comes to your neck of the woods again, I hope you get to see her, Nina. She’s so endearing in person. Her passion really shines. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved this, Jackie. Through the years, I’ve gained an appreciation for Goodall’s work. So many lessons of patience, persistence and passion. Thank you for this glimpse into her work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jackie and I both thank you! She wrote a great article and I’m delighted to post it here.
LikeLike
Rudri, I know how much you appreciate all of the wonderful qualities Dr. Goodall embodies. She’s a terrific role model.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Because of this post, I looked up all these people and this award program. So much to admire and appreciate. Thank you for highlighting their great work.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Likeitiz! I’m so glad you have enjoyed these posts about the trailblazers among us. It’s been a lot of fun tracking them down and reading more about them. If you have any suggestions for new nominees, just let me know!
LikeLike
Terrific post! I believe Jane Goodall is one of the most important and influential persons of the late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Her dedication to animal welfare is both heartfelt and inspirational. Terrific series too Patti-I look forward to seeing what you come up with in the future-
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Meg. So glad you’re enjoying this series. Stay tuned for the next trailblazer!
LikeLike
Jane Goodall is one of my absolute heroines. As a child I admired her, and could not stop watching the TV-programmes about her work. As a grown – up I have read a great deal about her and admire her immensely. I cannot believe that some of you here really met her! A dream!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am amazed too that Jackie and Sally have met her!
LikeLiked by 1 person