It all started in 1935 when a chimpanzee called Boo-Boo had a baby at the London Zoo. A little blonde girl was given a replica of the new baby chimp for her first birthday. Since that first encounter, the little girl would grow up to make scientific observations that would shift the way we see chimpanzees and even humans — including chimp communication, tool-making, sex, mother–infant bonding, inter-community warfare and cannibalism, which were until then all considered human-only traits.
Yet after years of valuable research and accolades, at the age of 52, Dr Jane Goodall walked away from the field in order to become a conservation advocate which continues to do to this day, at the age of 83.
On Saturday, July 1, she will be giving a talk on just exactly what separates us from other animals, as part of her tour through New Zealand. Tickets are already almost sold out.