When Jane Goodall left her boat at what is now Gombe National Park in Tanzania on July 14, 1960, she began a journey that transforms science forever.
Armed with her notepad and binoculars, Goodall sat far away from the chimpanzees (pantrogloids), she was sent to observe, gradually working to build trust. This perseverance gave the chimpanzees time to “habit.” This is until the wild animals adapt to human existence and they begin to act normally around them.
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Goodall’s first innovative discovery was that it was not unique for humans to create and use tools. In October 1960, she spies on David Greybeard, the high-ranking adult man who first relaxed in her presence, and thrusts into termite mounds to fish out the residents.
Up until this point, scientists had assumed that only humans had the brain for such behavior. “It’s about humans creating unique tools,” wrote Kenneth Oakley, a 20th century physical anthropologist and paleontologist, for a conference held in 1947 at the Museum of Natural History in London.
Chimpanzee fields and wider animal tools are currently a fast-growing field of research, with chimpanzees from Africa known for termite fishing, and West African chimpanzees are experts using stones to crack hard shell nuts. Primatologists regularly observe chimps using tools to infer how they solved similar problems, including termite phishing.
Each one is unique
Goodall ignored the convention by giving each member of the Kasakera Chimpanzee community a name like Flo, Fifi, Goliath, and more, as opposed to the numbers. On this back she realized that each individual had a unique personality. David Greybeard, for example, was very kind and Frodo was a bully.
For Goodall, it is not surprising now that we find personal differences in how chimpanzees act and think, but this finding has launched a surge in research into how personality maps to behavior. Behavioral differences are important, especially when affecting their ability to survive and reproduce, as differences in behavior can have significant evolutionary consequences, especially when affecting the key principles behind natural selection evolution.
Mother Infant’s Relationship
The birth of Flint, a new infant in the early 1960s, gave Goodall the opportunity to observe a mother caring for the newborn. All the interactions she saw were new scientific discoveries.
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For example, as infants matured, they found that mothers began to actively separate their abilities by denying nursing opportunities, refusing to attempt to ride their backs, and simultaneously exposing infants to more and more social interactions.
Scientists now know that mothers play an important role in learning periods due to complex behaviors such as the use of tools. A 2019 survey published in the Journal PNAS found that chimpanzee mothers in the Republic of Congo could even actively teach termite fish methods by keeping their toddlers in their hands.
i’ll be there for you
Goodall also observed that beyond her mother’s bonds, chimpanzees also form strong, long-term connections with family and other members of the group. It has since been investigated that individual chimpanzees create close bonds with people outside their gender or rank and share food with their peers.
Furthermore, primatologists now know that chimpanzees have extraordinary social memories that complement these bonds. A 2023 study in PNAS found that chimpanzees recognize former group peers almost 30 years after they last looked at each other.
So Goodall’s discovery is key to unleashing the previously unknown social life of our nearest living relatives, and revealing that these relationships can teach us about the social and cultural evolution of humans.
For example, these close relationships, and the corresponding social tolerance they create, form the basis of chimpanzees’ learning. In fact, tolerance towards groupmates is argued to be fundamental to primates, including humanity, in their evolution to create and use tools.
Taste of blood
Goodall’s days on Google also revealed that chimpanzees were not once believed vegetarians. Instead, they are omnivorous animals that actively hunt meat. The Red Colobus Monkey (Pyriocolobus) is the main prey of the Casakera community, but it is now known that African chimpanzees hunt a wide range of species.
For example, the chimpanzee of the Uganda Hunt Duiker, a type of antelope.
Goodall also discovered violence among members of various groups, which paved the way for broader research into chimpanzee border patrols, group-level cooperation and reconciliation actions.
We now know that oxytocin (a binding hormone) is involved in post-conflict settlements and not only builds relationships, but also shows its importance in their repair.
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