Primate Research by Jane Goodall - Essay Example

Who is Jane Goodall, and why is her work considered important, especially today? The evolution of human mind and their thinking capacity has been a concerning question amongst scientists and academic scholars. The way humans have developed abilities to think and react, not to mention innate patterns are widely studied and discussed amongst scientists. Naturalists and evolutionists have studied various aspects of it and have spent lifetimes trying to develop a coherent line between the actions of human beings and their ancestors. One such woman who made a remarkable achievement in the field is Jane Goodall. Being an anthropologist, primatologist and ethnologist she studied primates all her life to define certain inherited traits in the human behavioral pattern. She has worked extensively on animal issues and welfare projects that established her name as one of the extraordinary women of her time who redefined mankind. This paper is a reflection on her work and how her life spent in the jungle led to the success of her career, marked by a stepping stone in understanding human behavior by studying her work. Her detailed analysis on the life of chimpanzees made a revolution in understanding primates that are the closest in origin to mankind till now (Nicholls). Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934 in London. She had her destiny written from the stars above and was meant to prove something great to the world from the start. Goodall suffered from a disease called prosopagnosia which is when you cannot remember faces or patterns. It is a neurological disorder which plagued her and her little sister, as well. Memory impairment though can lead to serious learning disabilities but even then, from the start she remembered and recognized animals. She had no trouble in identifying them or naming them, especially the chimpanzees which in the time to come she was destined to meet and study thoroughly. Her early life is marked with more influence of her mother who ignited in her the love for Africa and animals (Greene 1). Goodall had a childhood filled with doctor Dolittle books and Tarzan novels that made her eager to explore living things in the world and connect with the adventure spirit of wildlife. Traveling to Kenya was the beginning of her wonderful journey and life in the forest. She met Louis Leakey who was seeking someone at that time to study the life of chimpanzees. It had been recently established that Humans and Apes shared ancestors and more research was needed. Goodall was perfect for the job since, she had not lectured or biased opinions or ideology (Mckie). Goodall research work on the life of chimpanzees is important and has made science progress far more in establishing a relation between behavioral patterns. Her first observation came from studying the primate she named as David who later on introduced her to a wide range of emotions exhibited by the primates in jungles. The misconception about chimpanzees being strict vegetarian was erased when she saw David eating what seemed like a baby pig. This was further fueled by her visualizing the use of a stick by David to capture food. The use of a stick by David to pick up ants from an ant hill and fulfill his hunger was in fact her first encounter of the dynamic behaviors the primates exhibited (Nicholls). This investigation and discovery fueled her passion more about studying animals and especially chimpanzees. Tools were thought to be only used by humans since, they are considered the finest intelligent creatures on the planet and there amidst the jungle she witnessed a primate doing the same and fulfilling the need of basic survival; that is hunger. Gombe chimpanzees proved to be a vital resource in her study and development of theoretical research work. Despite her making a remarkable discovery, she had to leave her work and pursue a doctorate degree on the insistence of Leakey (Mckie). Janes love for animals made her give them names and personalities because she thoroughly believed like her colleagues that animals possessed these traits. She was highly criticized by her colleagues but that did not bring her down. Her set example was her dog named Rusty. She established the point that animals do feel and have emotions prior to what the previous knowledge might be. They feel and exhibit emotions in just the same way and are capable of showing both love and hate. This was later justified by her study when the chimpanzees she was studying went on war with each other and resorted to cruel acts which can be easily classified as barbaric (Mckie). Her book In the Shadow of Man Boston, gave out a detailed analysis of her life with the chimpanzees and the behavior that they exhibited. Redefining the previous cherished concepts about primates and human beings were revolutionized and changed. She established that animals do have the capability that humans possess and that even though, they might not be able to communicate verbally but the non-verbal communication is strong and that primates do make a lot of voices to convey their messages (Mckie). In conclusion, Goodall diminished and changed the previously held concepts relating the primates and other animals. She was destined from the start to make an impact and give out voice to the voiceless animals. Her research impacted the old methods and paved way for further progress by establishing that primates and human beings share a lot of things in common. The mental ability might be different but is the same when looked upon from the general viewpoint and just as humans, primates have personalities and their way of life is also similar to that of mankind. Her efforts in shedding light on the issue of similar behaviors led not only to a remarkable way for improvement and progress but her involvement at a personal level gave out the sentiment that animal cruelty in no form is right. Living so closely with the chimpanzees and studying every detail about them led her to establish ground breaking discoveries in the field of behavioral sciences Works Cited Greene, Meg. Jane Goodall: A Biography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2005. Print. McKie,Robin. “Chimps with everything. Jane Goodall’s 50 years in the jungle”. The Guardian. 27 Jun. 2010. Web.19 Oct.2014. Nicholls, Henry. “Jane Goodall: How she redefined mankind”. BBC. 1 Apr. 2014. Web.19 Oct.2014. Read More