Dr. Jane Goodall visited the Houston Zoo on October 30, 2010. Dr. Goodall toured The African Forest, the Zoo’s newest addition that opens to the public on Dec. 10. She saw the Zoo’s new chimpanzee exhibit and the Zoo’s 10 chimps. As part of her visit, in the afternoon Dr. Goodall also did a presentation and question and answer session with Houston Zoo staff. Jane Goodall founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, but its birth can be traced to the moment Jane stepped out of a game warden’s boat onto a pebbly beach at what was then the Gombe Stream Game Reserve in Tanzania. Fifty years ago, Jane Goodall had a daunting assignment & find and get close to wild chimpanzees to document their behavior to shed light on our own evolutionary past. She rose to the occasion, very quickly making the first observations of any wild animals making and using tools. Jane also observed chimps hunting bush pigs and other animals, disproving the widely held belief that chimpanzees were primarily vegetarians. Through subsequent years, Jane opened the world’s eyes to the complexity and richness of chimpanzee communities, writing of close family bonds, dominance struggles among males, human-like communications such as pats on the back and hugs, and much more. Today the Gombe chimps are perhaps the world’s best-known, and the Gombe research program represents the world’s longest continuous wildlife study. To view photos: http://www.houstonzoo.org/en/photos/search.asp?albumid=109
The Houston Zoo’s support of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Reserve began in 2004. The Houston Zoo has committed $100,000 in support of this program through 2014. For information on the zoos efforts with chimpanzee conservation and how you can help support these programs – go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/jane-goodall-institute/
Gombe: 50 Years of Research and Inspiration from The Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.
