Silent and upright, sitting amidst the bric-a-brac of objects gleaned over the years, Jane Goodall resembles the animals to which she has dedicated her life. Her piercing, scrutinizing and lively eyes landed for the first time on Africa in 1960. At the age of 26, she had decided to go observe chimpanzees for long months in the forests of Tanzania. Alone, she spends hours busy getting herself accepted by the primates to unravel their mysteries. Because, she was convinced, they and us were the same. This immersion in wildlife allowed him to bring back the proof. Chimpanzees use tools to feed themselves, organize themselves socially, obey principles of community life and, no better than humans, are capable of cruelty equal to ours. The work of the young woman showed that it was monstrous and foolish to think that using them for scientific or amusement purposes was without consequences: like us, chimpanzees feel fear and experience suffering.
At Cambridge, where she continued her studies, Jane Goodall annoyed her teachers by insisting on talking about “her” monkeys, to whom she had given first names and whose emotions she described. Today, she opposes a firm and polite refusal to the photographer who offers to change her clothes: “No. I will do the photo with this shawl, not another. Because it’s my favorite.” It is with the same soft voice that she has, without stopping, called on the Western world to become aware of the fate reserved for chimpanzees in laboratories. If we no longer find it normal to put monkeys in cages to test beauty products or new serums, it is to her that we owe it. His work has changed our view of animals.
Chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, monkeys and lemurs could disappear within 25 to 50 years
Six decades later, the English anthropologist remains an activist. Since 1977, she has headed the Jane Goodall Institute, present in 23 countries. She created Roots and Shoots, an international educational program for the promotion of concrete actions, carried out by young people around the world. But its cause goes far beyond that of animals. During her lifetime, she witnessed the devastation wrought by man on the wild habitat. “As long as it only bothered the monkeys,” she said, “it didn’t alarm anyone.” Now, these practices have consequences far beyond forests. The entire planet is affected by climate change. The concern has become general.
To consult: Our special page dedicated to the heroes of the planet
Yet Jane Goodall remains an optimist. She, who knows she must “soon leave this world and leave behind [elle] all this chaos”, keep hope. In us and, above all, in the younger generations. More informed and assertive, she says, than she “was[t] at their age.” Hence the title of his latest work: “The Book of Hope” (ed. Flammarion). “An alliance is still possible between humans and ecosystems,” says Jane Goodall. We would like to believe her.