Jane Goodall documenting observations in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, back in 1987.(Image credit: Penelope Breese via Getty Images)
Following Jane Goodall’s passing two weeks ago, many individuals have contemplated her existence, notably her lasting scientific impact and how she revolutionized humanity’s connection to the natural realm.
As a ground-breaking primatologist, Goodall achieved the distinction of observing numerous behaviors and traits in the chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) within Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, characteristics previously assumed to be exclusive to humankind, such as tool usage, aggression, and unique personalities.
Goodall’s insights radically altered our comprehension of chimpanzees; furthermore, her unique methodology, resulting from a deficiency in formal scientific instruction, empowered her to furnish significant additions that redefined the domain of animal study. Nevertheless, this would demonstrate itself as a paradox, guiding her to employ approaches that primatologists presently deem unhelpful.
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What were Goodall’s contributions to primatology, precisely? And did a portion of them fall short? Live Science consulted with specialists in chimpanzee research to examine her lasting influence on the exploration of chimps, encompassing the ways in which particular initial observations skewed our understanding of chimpanzee intellect and conduct, alongside how scientists have learned from the unintended ramifications of her early choices.
One of the clearest illustrations of Goodall’s inadvertent disobedience of stringent scientific regulations can be observed in her act of designating individual names for the Gombe chimpanzees, as well as maintaining an unbiased perspective on their capabilities.
“She didn’t realize it was not acceptable to assign them names. She was unaware that discussions regarding sentiments, emotions, and personal backgrounds were discouraged,” Elizabeth Lonsdorf, a professor of anthropology at Emory University who studies the Gombe chimps, conveyed to Live Science. “Her most valuable gift to us was the firm establishment of this understanding of chimpanzees as fundamental, thereby enabling us to create enhanced scientific methodologies with this awareness in our thoughts.”
Recognizing that considering the individual histories of chimps was vital, Goodall initiated an entire field of study by forming the primary long-term study of these primates. Currently, the Gombe chimpanzees are observed daily by a committed team of expert Tanzanian monitors, and since 1960, experts have amassed more than 165,000 hours of information regarding their conduct.
Researchers can now utilize this data to monitor chimpanzees’ growth from the time they’re born until they reach old age, noting the means by which each generation passes down abilities and understanding to the succeeding one. “Chimps can live for 60 years, so you can’t actually pose these questions without five or six decades of investigation,” Lonsdorf stated.
The Gombe community currently encompasses the fifth cohort of chimpanzees descended from the original chimpanzees that Goodall examined, with family ancestries arranged according to the initial letter of their mothers’ names.
‘Friendship’ as the unmentionable in primatology
The practice of naming chimpanzees reaches beyond simple tracking, and it has enabled new courses of research. Laura Simone Lewis, a primatologist associated with the University of California, Santa Barbara, conveyed to Live Science that, although captive chimpanzees undoubtedly react to their designated names, she is presently studying whether they also recognize the names assigned to their fellow group members.
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Discovering proof that chimpanzees recognize each other’s names would imply that the fundamental aptitude to comprehend social labels could have been present before the development of human language, Lewis stated. “That originates straight from Jane’s undertaking of naming chimpanzees.”
This research also advances Goodall’s exploration of social connections within chimpanzees. Lewis noted that many of Goodall’s initial insights regarding the societal and emotive aspects of chimps were anecdotal, and as such, were disregarded.
Actually, for over 40 years following Goodall’s original observations, “friendship” was regarded as a taboo term within primatology. Although Lewis remains cautious when using the expression, its increasing acceptance by primatologists is rooted in years of practical study, and this underscores the correctness of Goodall’s initial insights. “We frequently refer to them as close social relationships, although what they truly are are friendships. They are very intimate and enduring connections among creatures that can persist for many decades.”
Young chimpanzees playing in Côte d’Ivoire
This viewpoint is mirrored elsewhere. Liran Samuni, a primatologist at Harvard University who examines cooperation and relations between groups in chimps, remarked that despite the negative recognition that chimps have for aggression, she “cannot conceive of another primate species [excluding humans] that is also as collaborative and committed to each other as chimpanzees are.”
The distinction lies in the fact that chimpanzees exhibit exceptional friendliness towards their ingroup and “demonstrate systematic hostility to the outgroup,” according to Sylvain Lemoine, a primatologist at the University of Cambridge, in a statement to Live Science.
Chimpanzees’ “social environment consists of both their own community and the neighboring communities,” stated Lemoine. Additionally, they consistently face the possibility of being attacked by hostile neighbors, he included.
Goodall’s observations regarding chimpanzee aggression were additionally fundamental. She was the pioneer to observe lethal aggressive behavior between chimpanzee groups, and documented what is presently known as the Gombe Chimpanzee War, a four-year-long battle that originated from the splintering of the Kasakela community.
Initially, Lemoine clarified, researchers dismissed this behavior as artificial, arising from Goodall’s practice of feeding bananas to the chimpanzees, known as “provisioning.” By using food to entice the chimps, Goodall could attract the entire group to a central location to observe their interactions with greater ease. Nevertheless, this elevated concentration of highly sought-after resources dangerously intensified the competition among the chimpanzees.
Currently, it is established that intergroup violence is typical among chimpanzee populations, and “whether this community in Gombe was fragmented due to the provisioning remains another open question,” said Lemoine.
However, this highlights a significant point. While Goodall’s receptive nature led her to disregard unsubstantiated assumptions held by experts during her time, such as the belief that warfare was specific to humans, she also implemented choices that ultimately brought about unforeseen unfavorable outcomes.
Not all chimps are Gombe chimps
The reality that Goodall’s initial efforts were concentrated on one community at a single site, Gombe National Park, also produced another unintended effect: the longstanding presumption that the conduct and societal structure of the Gombe chimpanzees mirrored those across all chimpanzee communities. “This is an issue that individuals studying chimpanzees are still grappling with,” according to Samuni.
Currently, we are aware that chimpanzees across Africa can vary significantly from each other. For example, the level of intergroup rivalry among chimps differs based on the animals’ social arrangements, Samuni informed Live Science. A comprehensive study issued in the journal Nature in 2014 revealed that chimpanzees in East Africa were more prone to lethal behavior compared to those in West Africa. They also discovered that higher numbers of killings were noted in groups with greater numbers of adult males.
Female chimpanzees in Taï patrolling their borders with their offspring.
Moreover, Goodall observed that female chimpanzees were antisocial, often keeping to themselves while males congregated for interaction. While superficially true, females in East African chimpanzee communities, such as those in Gombe, tend to be more outlying members of the group, Samuni clarified.
Nevertheless, this is nowhere near true across the board. Female chimpanzees in West African communities are “exceptionally central to the social arrangement,” Samuni indicated. Regardless, the original perception produced by Goodall’s observations initiated a persistent assumption that all female chimpanzees were antisocial, a prejudice that required years to dispel.
However, Lonsdorf stated that she never regarded Goodall’s efforts as a hindrance to researchers. Goodall’s observations simply formed a basis for examining variation by developing a “foundational framework of how a chimpanzee behaves,” she explained.
Times have shifted
Much has transformed since Goodall’s primary observations. Nowadays, the Gombe chimpanzees are designated Swahili names instead of English names, and utilizing local language names is common across sites. Moreover, chimpanzees are no longer provisioned at any site.
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Additionally, researchers are presently able to gather data exceeding simple observations. “These days, our science is mostly interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary,” noted Alejandra Pascual-Garrido, a primatologist from the University of Oxford who works with the Gombe chimpanzees, when speaking to Live Science. Gombe now hosts a genetics lab, enabling researchers to examine paternity and the state of the gene pool.
Similarly, the times of intimately interacting with chimpanzees, as Goodall did, are long since gone. Nowadays, researchers put on masks to avoid making animals ill, and they maintain their distance to remain safe. Primatologists additionally strive to guarantee that images of individuals in close contact with primates are not shared, as they might compromise conservation initiatives and stimulate the pet trade. Pascual-Garrido mentioned that the old photographs of Goodall embracing chimpanzees would be regarded as “entirely unacceptable” by contemporary primatologists.
It is vital to remember that Goodall was acting in ways that seemed effective at the time, and she had no additional location to learn from. Samuni commented that “the reality that she did not hold these predefined notions and concepts enabled her to perceive aspects that others might have overlooked or dismissed.” Pascual-Garrido concurred, stating, “She perceived the world from a unique angle, and she transformed the world’s perspective of it.”
TOPICSnews analyses
Sophie BerdugoSocial Links NavigationStaff writer
Sophie functions as a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. Her coverage spans a wide array of subjects, as she has previously reported on research varying from bonobo communication to the first instance of water within the universe. Her work has also been featured in various outlets, including New Scientist, The Observer, and BBC Wildlife. Furthermore, she was considered for the Association of British Science Writers’ “Newcomer of the Year” honor for her freelance work at New Scientist in 2025. Prior to her career as a science journalist, she completed a doctorate in evolutionary anthropology from the University of Oxford, dedicating four years to exploring why some chimpanzees exhibit greater tool-using proficiency than others.
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Primates of the early Earth thrived in cold climates — not just the tropics
World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall passes away, Iran is sinking at an alarming rate, and scientists have succeeded in creating human egg cells from skin
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