Training Future Primatologists
In 1965, Goodall founded the Gombe Stream Research Centre, and just two years later the reserve was formally protected by the government of Tanzania as Gombe National Park. After more than 45 years of study at Gombe, Goodall and her fellow researchers have amassed an extensive collection of behavioral and demographic data on the chimpanzees of three communities. The research continuously reveals the complexity and sophistication of chimpanzee minds and societies, challenging humans’ ideas about what separates “human” from “nonhuman” and providing a new lens through which to view humans.
The Centre also serves as a training ground for future leaders in primatology, and so conducts or supports a variety of studies on topics including mothers and infants, aggression and inter-group violence, disease transmission, and more. Gombe scientific staff members helped pioneer a non-invasive DNA collection method as part of a significant ongoing research effort to understand the origins of HIV. Conservation studies involve GIS mapping and remote sensing techniques. A full-time videographer at Gombe provides a dynamic visual accompaniment to the research data—hundreds of hours of footage capturing the day-to-day drama of chimpanzee life.
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Chimpanzee Kris grooming himself. Gombe National Park, Tanzania.
© Bill Wallauer