Jane Page #2

---

and tireless observation,

I had been rewarded.

The chimps had accepted me.

And gradually I was able to

penetrate further and further

into a magic world that no

human had explored before.

The world of the

wild chimpanzees.

Finally, I was

allowed to observe the

chimpanzees closely.

I learned that chimpanzees

spend long hours

in grooming sessions.

They, like us, need friendly

contact and reassurance.

As I got to know them as

individuals I named them.

David Greybeard, with

his calm and dignified

personality and often

he was accompanied

by the top ranking male

at the time, Goliath.

Mr. McGregor, a somewhat

belligerent old male,

and then there was Flo,

with her bulbous nose and

ragged ears along with

her infant daughter Fifi.

Staring into

the eyes of a chimpanzee,

I saw a thinking,

reasoning personality

looking back.

I was learning from some

of the most fascinating

creatures of our times.

And I realized that they

were all part of one group.

A community.

And the more I learned,

the more I realized how like

us they were in so many ways.

At that time in the early

1960's it was held at

least by many scientists

that only humans had minds.

Only humans were capable

of rational thought.

Fortunately, I had not

been to university, and I

did not know these things.

I felt very much as though

I was learning about fellow

beings capable of joy and

sorrow, fear, and jealousy.

Louis Leakey sent me to Gombe

because he believed that an

understanding of chimpanzees

in the wild would help him to

better guess how our Stone Age

ancestors may have behaved.

It had long been thought

that we were the only

creatures on earth that used

and made tools.

Man the toolmaker is

how we were defined.

And here was David

Greybeard using a tool.

It was hard for me to

believe what I had seen.

A few days later I watched

spellbound as chimps set

off to a termite mound,

picked a small leafy

twig, then stripped

it of its leaves.

That was object modification.

The crude beginning

of tool making.

It had never been seen before.

When I telegramed the news to

Louis Leakey he responded that

we must now redefine man

or accept chimpanzee's as human.

My observations at Gombe would

challenge human uniqueness and

whenever that happens...

there is always

a violent uproar.

There were some who would try to

discredit my observations

because I was a young,

untrained girl and should,

therefore, be disregarded.

The result of it all, however,

was that Louis was able

to obtain a grant from the

National Geographic Society

to continue my study.

In addition, they would be

sending out a photographer

to document the chimpanzees.

Hi, I'm Jane.

-Hugo

Jane, for someone who

enjoyed your solitude,

were you concerned

about bringing another

person into your...

-Yeah.

No, I wasn't

particularly happy, but

it was part of the deal.

Geographic funds you.

They must cover the research.

It was my project.

And he came to, you know,

document my project.

And I just didn't want

anybody coming into

my little paradise.

What were your

first impressions of Hugo?

-Well, Hugo smoked.

He almost chained smoked.

And all the butts on

the floor, oh I have

always hated smoking.

And he was a perfectionist.

It drove me nuts.

But at the same time, you know,

he was a nice looking guy and

his voice was quiet.

-The first evening Hugo

spent telling me about the

films that he'd made and his

childhood and how he

had always wanted to

photograph animals.

So we had a lot in common.

And I think it was pretty

obvious to me right from the

start that I was a subject of

interest as well as the chimps.

One day we were greeted

with fantastic news.

A chimp had crept into

my tent and had taken some

bananas left from my supper.

Perhaps he would come again.

And so the next day,

Hugo and I waited.

As the hours went by, I

began to fear that the

chimp wouldn't come.

Then a black shape

appeared on the other

side of the clearing.

I recognized him at once.

It was David Greybeard.

I could hardly believe it.

For months the chimps had been

running off when they saw me.

Now one had actually

visited my camp.

After that I always had a

supply of bananas ready.

The chimps often came to

camp looking for bananas.

And gradually they allowed

me to get closer and closer.

It was absolutely thrilling to

have the chimpanzees so close,

but the bananas feedings

were not without problems.

As they lost their fear of

us, the chimps quickly proved

to be unconscionable thieves.

They would steal blankets,

cloths from the kitchen,

shirts and pillows,

and cardboard boxes-

wonderful things to chew on.

No longer did the chimpanzees

arrive in small quiet parties.

Instead, they invaded

our camp in huge groups and

aggressive competition between

chimpanzees increased.

Occasionally, we

had to seek shelter.

And the aggression

became more serious.

In order to stop the

aggression, we decided to

create the feeding station.

With the hope that it would

control their aggressive

tendencies and bring peace.

Now, using hand operated steel

boxes we could manage the

feeding in an organized way.

As a result, we were able

to make closer observations

than ever before.

Old Flo was easy to

identify, she had a bulbous

nose and ragged ears.

Flo was the top ranked

female of her community

and could dominate all

the other females.

But none of the adult males.

For in chimpanzee society

males are the dominant sex.

One day she came to camp

with a pink swelling

on her backside.

It was a sign that she

was ready for mating.

Many of the males

quickly realized and

began their pursuit.

She was followed by a

long line of suitors.

It was from Flo

that I first learned that

in the wild female chimps do

not just have one mate.

She allowed them all

to mate with her.

And Fifi hated it.

It must

have been exciting to have

been joined by someone who

shared your passions.

-No, that's right.

We both loved being out in

nature and we both loved

the work we were doing.

We just got on very well.

Hugo's time in Gombe

was almost over.

I cared for him, and I

knew that I would miss him,

but then after he had left I

received a telegram.

When you and

Hugo decided to get married,

what were your plans?

You know honestly, we

didn't really make long term

plans, we really didn't.

We just wanted to go back

to Gombe and make films.

When we returned to Gombe,

there was wonderful news.

Flo gave birth to a son.

I called him Flint.

When Flint was born it gave

Hugo and I the opportunity to

initiate a study that could

last 50 years.

And it was the first time

an infant chimpanzee and the

relationship between parent

and child could be observed

so closely in the wild.

As a mother Flo was

affectionate,

tolerant, and nurturing

and used distraction

rather than punishment

to teach her small infant.

Fifi soon became

utterly preoccupied

Rate this script:3.0 / 1 vote