People celebrate World Animal Day in October. The day started as a way to promote the protection of all animals. Dr. Jane Goodall is a champion for animals. She studied chimps in the wild and made some amazing discoveries about them!
Jane was ten when she decided she wanted to go to Africa to live with wild animals and write books about them. Her mother told her that if she really wanted something, she would need to work hard and never give up. When she was 26, Jane arrived in Tanzania to study chimps at a place called Gombe Stream.
Jane studied chimps in different ways than people studied them before. She named them and felt close to them. She wanted to find out about their minds and emotions. She noticed that the chimps liked to take care of each other. She also saw chimps use materials around them to make and use tools. Before her work, people thought only humans used tools. She also noticed that chimpanzees had different personalities. Some were kind and quiet, while others were meaner to each other.
Jane wrote articles and books about her experiences with the chimpanzees. She has spent much of her life protecting not just chimpanzees but animals all over the world.
What Do You Think? Why do you think chimpanzees were so important to Jane Goodall? What animal would you like to learn more about?
Photo Credit: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STUDIOS/AF archive/Alamy Stock Photo
