BRUSSELS—The world’s most famous primatologist, Jane Goodall, visited the European Parliament in Brussels this week to speak with children of 37 nationalities about chimpanzees, the urgency of environmental protection, and making provisions for the future.
Goodall, who is best known for her nearly 50 years of studying chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, gave a half-hour speech to an audience of 340 school children and teachers from schools in Brussels on Nov. 22. She opened her talk by greeting the kids with a “hello” in chimpanzees, and closed by giving a chance to the students to ask her questions.
One 9-year-old asked, “How did you protect yourself in the jungle? And if snakes came, what did you do?”
“I suppose they thought I was a brunch, but then at a certain point, what’s really strange, they meet your eye, and they realize you are not a brunch,” answered Goodall.
A question raised by another child was, “When you were alone in the jungle, did you have anyone to cheer you up?” To which the Goodall replied, “When I was out in the jungle, or the forest, I didn’t really need anyone to cheer me up, I would meet the chimpanzees from time to time.”
Goodall spends about 300 days per year traveling the world, talking to young people about the importance of saving the planet. She started a program called Roots & Shoots for the purpose of bringing youth together to talk about how to preserve the planet’s biodiversity for the future.
Goodall, who is best known for her nearly 50 years of studying chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, gave a half-hour speech to an audience of 340 school children and teachers from schools in Brussels on Nov. 22. She opened her talk by greeting the kids with a “hello” in chimpanzees, and closed by giving a chance to the students to ask her questions.
One 9-year-old asked, “How did you protect yourself in the jungle? And if snakes came, what did you do?”
“I suppose they thought I was a brunch, but then at a certain point, what’s really strange, they meet your eye, and they realize you are not a brunch,” answered Goodall.
A question raised by another child was, “When you were alone in the jungle, did you have anyone to cheer you up?” To which the Goodall replied, “When I was out in the jungle, or the forest, I didn’t really need anyone to cheer me up, I would meet the chimpanzees from time to time.”
Goodall spends about 300 days per year traveling the world, talking to young people about the importance of saving the planet. She started a program called Roots & Shoots for the purpose of bringing youth together to talk about how to preserve the planet’s biodiversity for the future.
“What fascinates me is that really all over the world, there isn’t that much difference in the kind of questions I get asked by groups of young people,” she commented.
In 2008, half of all species in Europe were on the endangered species list. The European Union’s goal is to put an end to the decline of endangered species and habitats within the EU by the end of 2010.
The British scientist talked about what she’s learned from working with animals for so many years. She said that when she first began in 1960, scientists told her that “human beings were the only ones with personalities, minds capable of thinking, and above all emotions.”
“I knew that wasn’t true for my dog, but the chimpanzees are so like us biologically,” she told The Epoch Times.
In 2008, half of all species in Europe were on the endangered species list. The European Union’s goal is to put an end to the decline of endangered species and habitats within the EU by the end of 2010.
The British scientist talked about what she’s learned from working with animals for so many years. She said that when she first began in 1960, scientists told her that “human beings were the only ones with personalities, minds capable of thinking, and above all emotions.”
“I knew that wasn’t true for my dog, but the chimpanzees are so like us biologically,” she told The Epoch Times.
She said her work helped people “understand the true nature of nonhuman animals that they really are capable of feeling and so forth.”
Answering a question from the press about the argument that chimps still need to be used in medical research because there is no alternative, Goodall called the practice “torture.”
“If you think about it, what right do we have to take these animals that have committed no sin and shut them up in horrible conditions and do very unpleasant things to them? It’s not a good mark for humanity, I think, to continue,” she said.
With additional reporting by Nico Bijnens.
Answering a question from the press about the argument that chimps still need to be used in medical research because there is no alternative, Goodall called the practice “torture.”
“If you think about it, what right do we have to take these animals that have committed no sin and shut them up in horrible conditions and do very unpleasant things to them? It’s not a good mark for humanity, I think, to continue,” she said.
With additional reporting by Nico Bijnens.
