Goodall's discoveries were brought to the public's attention by a 1965
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC television documentary, which vaulted her to international
prominence and quieted her doubters. That same year, England's Cambridge
University awarded Goodall an honorary doctorate; she is one of only
a handful of people to earn that distinction without having first completed
four years of college.
Goodall lived at Gombe almost full-time until 1975, accumulating a
wealth of long-term data still valued by today's researchers. Since
then, she has founded Jane Goodall Institutes in nine countries, including
Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These days, she
continues her studies from afar, focusing her attention on a passionate
campaign for chimpanzee conservation and research and speaking against
the nonessential use of chimps in medical research. She travels the
world giving speeches (often punctuated by her haunting renditions of
chimp calls) and raising funds for the half-dozen chimpanzee refuges
she has established in Africa.
Compassion and concern for the species has swelled in recent years,
partially due to Goodall's proof of the similarities between chimps
and humans. At the same time, however, there is a mounting interest
in using them for medical research -- an unfortunate one, in Goodall's
view. "Some scientists believe chimpanzees can be useful in finding
out more about human diseases and searching for cures because they can
be infected with otherwise uniquely human viruses," she regrets.
But, she cautions, "it isn't only human beings who have personality,
who are capable of rational thought [and] emotions like joy and sorrow."
Coming to grips with this, she hopes, will help resolve "many ethical
problems [regarding how] we use and abuse animals."
