Jane Goodall (born April 3, 1934) is a primatologist and anthropologist conducting a forty-year study of chimpanzee social and family life in Africa. She was instrumental in recognition of social learning, thinking, acting, and culture in wild chimps, their differentiation from the bonobo, and the inclusion of both species along with the gorilla as Hominids.

One of Goodall's biggest contributions to the field of primatology was the discovery of tool use in chimpanzees. She discovered that some chimpanzees poke twigs into termite holes. The termites would grab onto the stick with their mandibles and the chimpanzees would then just pull the stick out and eat the termites.

Goodall also flouted traditional scientific method in her study of primates by naming the animals she studied, instead of assigning each a number, a nearly universal practice at the time.

One of cartoonist Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons shows two chimps grooming, one finding Jane Goodall's hair in the fur of the other. The Goodall institute complained that this was in bad taste; however an appeal to Jane Goodall herself revealed that she found the cartoon amusing; since then, all profits from sales of the t-shirt featuring this cartoon go to the Jane Goodall Institute. She has also appeared (cast as herself) in an episode of the Nickelodeon animated series The Wild Thornberrys titled The Trouble With Darwin.

External Links

• The Jane Goodall Institute