![]() The paleoanthropologist was so impressed by her attitude and knowledge about Africa that he hired her as his assistant. Soon after arriving, she met Louis Leakey, whose work was instrumental in establishing that Africa was the cradle of humankind. In 1957, at the age of 23, Goodall left for Kenya equipped with an insatiable curiosity and unrelenting drive. When a childhood friend invited her to visit her family’s farm in Kenya, Goodall moved back home to save money for the boat fare. After finishing school and unable to afford university, she started working as a secretary. But I was fascinated, and hearing her story changed my life.Īlmost from the moment of her birth in London in 1934, Goodall was obsessed with animals, dreaming of going to Africa like “the other Jane,” as she refers to the character in Tarzan of the Apes. My 16-year-old self had never heard of Goodall, renowned around the world for her work with primates, a Dame of the British Empire and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. ![]() The infectious sound, however, was not emanating from one of humankind’s closest cousins, but from the frail-looking, silver-haired woman before us, who was demonstrating how chimps greet each other in the morning. About 100 of us, stacked in bleachers in the gym at Hong Kong International School, marvelled as the high-pitched hooting of a chimpanzee reverberated around the walls. It was in 2006 that I first met the revered conservationist Jane Goodall. Spoiler alert: it was love at first sound. Here, Chor recounts how she met, fell for and began working with her ecological heroine. The 82-year-old has long been a source of inspiration right around the world-to people like journalist, researcher and National Geographic Young Explorer Laurel Chor, who decided to forge a career in conservation after a curious encounter with her future mentor in 2006. Her eponymous institute, which will host a fundraising gala on November 10 at the Island Shangri-La, educates and empowers youth to care for animals, the environment and the community. Renowned for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, primatologist Jane Goodall has spent a lifetime studying and working to protect endangered wildlife. Images courtesy of The Jane Goodall Institute, Michael Neugebauer, Chase Pickering, Hugo Van Lawick and the Goodall family
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |