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How Dr Jane Goodall became the first and only human accepted into a chimpanzee community

Jane Goodall formed special bonds with wild chimpanzees and was the first - and only - human to be accepted into a chimpanzee community to this day.  - National Geographic Creative
Jane Goodall formed special bonds with wild chimpanzees and was the first - and only - human to be accepted into a chimpanzee community to this day. - National Geographic Creative

To celebrate 100 years since the first British women were given the right to vote, The Telegraph – alongside the Mayor of London's #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign – is starting a new weekly series. 

Called 'Hidden Credits', it will look back and celebrate individual women who have smashed glass ceilings, helped change society for the better, and given the UK's capital something to boast about.

Week 2: Dame Dr Jane Goodall

Dame Dr Jane Goodall is a British primatologist and anthropologist who, aged 26 with no scientific qualifications, bravely ventured into the Tanzanian jungle to research chimpanzees - a passion that defied the social norms of the 1960s.

Gombe, Tanzania - David Greybeard was the first chimp to lose his fear of Jane, eventually coming to her camp to steal bananas and allowing Jane to touch and groom him. As the film JANE depicts, Jane and the other Gombe researchers later discontinued feeding and touching the wild chimps. - Credit: National Geographic/National Geographic
David Greybeard the chimpanzee was the first to lose his fear of Jane. He often came to her camp to steal bananas.Credit: National Geographic/National Geographic

Born in London in 1934, Jane went onto challenge the male-dominated scientific consensus of her time by revolutionising our understanding of chimpanzees, especially their social similarity to humans.

Bringing her nurturing and maternal touch to the jungle, Jane adopted a unique approach to researching chimpanzees. Instead of numbering them, as was normal at the time, she gave them names - such as Fifi, Gigi, and Goliath. One of the wild chimpanzees, who she named David Greybeard, became so comfortable around Jane that he was often spotted venturing over to her tent to steal bananas.

This enabled her to form unprecedentedly close bonds with the animals; she is said to be the first and only human to be accepted into a chimpanzee community.

Observing the individual personalities of chimpanzees was an unconventional idea at the time. In her research, Jane noted: "It isn't only human beings who have personality, who are capable of rational thought [and] emotions like joy and sorrow."

Gombe, Tanzania - Jane formed a close bond with young Fifi. As the film "Jane" depicts, Jane and the other Gombe researchers later discontinued feeding and touching the wild chimps.  - Credit: National Geographic/National Geographic
Jane is pictured with Fifi, who she formed a very close bond with.Credit: National Geographic/National Geographic

In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute which works to protect protect chimpanzees and other animals by giving support to sanctuaries and influencing law enforcement efforts to tackle illegal trafficking. It now has offices in more than 25 countries around the world.

The institute also supports schoolgirls in impoverished parts of Africa stay in school by supporting them with scholarships, providing sanitary supplies, creating a peer support network, and ensuring that they have access to information about their health and family planning.

In 2002, Jane was named a UN Messenger of Peace.

Speaking of pursuing her passion, Jane once said: “When I look back over my life it's almost as if there was a plan laid out for me - from the little girl who was so passionate about animals who longed to go to Africa and whose family couldn't afford to put her through college. Everyone laughed at my dreams. I was supposed to be a secretary in Bournemouth.”

Pictured with a male colleague. - Credit: National Geographic
Jane defied the social conventions of the 1960s by venturing into the jungle to observe chimpanzees, which was very much a male-dominated field.Credit: National Geographic