It’s been 50 years since Jane Goodall stepped on to the beach at Gombe, Tanzania (then called Tanganyika) to begin her study of wild chimpanzees. With that first step, the chimpanzee would become profundly more than just a wild beast in a children’s book or a character in a Tarzan movie. The chimpanzee became a species of wildlife with a personality and emotions. They showed both empathy and aggression towards each other, a complex social structure ,and cognitive thought. And they were found to be both foragers and hunters – utilizing “primitve” tools. Until the discovery, anthropologists saw tool-making as a defining trait of mankind. When Jane wrote Louis Leakey, her mentor and the man who set her on her course for her life’s work, of her discovery, he replied: “Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ redefine ‘man’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.”
For fifty years, the wild chimpanzee has been part of our evolving consciousness on how these great apes live and think and act. Fifty years should be enough time to strengthen protection of an iconic species, one which is known across the globe. But it has not been, and chimpanzee populations continues to decline across their historical range. Many African species face all too common threats; the commercial bushmeat trade, legal and illegal commercial logging, legal and illegal mining operations, conversion of forest to agricultural land, the pet trade and many others. Human civil war has taken its toll on wildlife simply by increasing the availability of guns and displacing local human populations which turn to wildlife hunting for subsistence.
Today, chimpanzees are distributed across Central and Western Africa in fragmented populations and continue to decline across their historical range. Sadly, they are believed to be extinct in five of the 25 countries they once inhabited, while populations in four other countries are on the verge of extirpation. It is believed only 10 countries have chimpanzee populations of 1,000 individuals or more.
The long-term sustainability of chimpanzee populations is threatened for a variety of reasons. Illegal bush meat trade, commercial and illegal logging, mining operations and covnersion of their habitat to agricultural land are all contributors. A lack of coordination between government agencies, extreme rural poverty and a shortage of incentives to protect wildlife are other factors.
There are few places left on earth where humans do not co-exist with native wildlife. There are few national parks and protected areas on earth where humans did not co-exist with wildlife before these park boundaries were put in place. And there are even fewer places where the decision to designate a protected area does not somehow intimately affect the human population living around its borders.
If we take the ability for native people to co-exist with their habitat away from them without offering a sustainable solution, then wildlife and habitat conservation efforts are bound to fail. The most successful wildlife conservation efforts are those in which indigenous communities are empowered in the management of local natural resources and supported through capacity building programs.
If we rob native people of the ability harvest natural resources and wildlife without offering a feasible, sustainable solution, then conservation efforts will utlimately fail. The most successful wildlife conservation efforts are those in which indigenous communities are empowered to manage natural resourcesand train through capacity building programs on alternate ways of generating income.
How can the average person influence these global wildlife problems? Westerners may feel there’s little relation between the problems affecting great apes and the decisions we make in our day-to-day lives. But we support a globally charged economy and there is a trickle down affect with everything we purchase. Several resources we consume come from this region, such as wood products, gold, diamonds, and ther gems and minerals. Your cell phone, video game system, and some computers include one of these minerals known as coltan. Eighty percent of the world’s coltan comes from the Congo - home to both gorillas and chimpanzees – and it’s turned into a multi-million dollar trade. Mining it destroys critical wildlife habitat and fuels civil unrest. Civil war takes its toll by increasing the availability of guns and displacing human populations who turn to hunting wildlife for subsistence. With civil unrest and instability comes an increase in the bush meat trade and the illegal removal of natural resources.
How great apes live, think and interact has been part of our evolving consciousness about wildlife for the last fifty years. Realizing how similar they are to humans inspires us to want to protect them. Fifty years should have been enough time to safeguard this iconic species and ensure their survival.
What have we learned in 50 years? We have learned that simply labeling a species as Endangered cannot protect it.
How can you help chimpanzees?
Support wildlife cosnervation efforts focusing on great ape species, especially the Jane Goodall Institute
- Visit the Houston Zoo’s new African Forest exhibit opening this December and learn more about these fascinating great apes.
- Be an informed consumer. Know where your products come from
- Keep your current cell phone longer and recycle used phones at the Houston Zoo. Recycle other electronics whenever possible.
And with these groups comes habitat destruction, illegal poaching and bushmeat, as well as the loss of human life due to the civil unrest. Something as simple as a cell phone has created a power struggle over resources. By recycling that resource so that it can be refurbished and re-used, we cut down on the amount of product imported, and hopefully slow down the trade.
Cell Phone Recycling: Help the environment by recycling hazardous waste. Cell phones contain a number of hazardous substances that can seriously impact the environment. Donate your cell phone to the Houston Zoo and the Zoo will have it recycled ensuring that most of these cell phones and their accessories will be reused or properly disposed of.
