Jane Goodall Breaks Rules: Chimps Use Tools
Jane Goodall watched a chimpanzee she had named David Greybeard strip leaves from a twig and insert it into a termite mound to fish for insects on November 4, 1960, at Gombe Stream in Tanzania. Goodall was 26 and had no university degree; Louis Leakey had sent her to study chimps because he believed a woman without academic preconceptions would observe more clearly. When she telegraphed Leakey about the tool use, he responded: 'Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.' The discovery shattered the prevailing definition of humanity as the only toolmaking species. Goodall went on to document chimps hunting, waging war, and showing empathy and grief. Her 60-year study at Gombe is the longest continuous study of any wild animal population in history.
November 4, 1960
66 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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