Jane Goodall: Revolutionary Primatologist and Anthropologist
The Henhouse When she was four years old Jane and her family stayed with her grandmother on her grandmother’s family farm While there Jane became curious about the hens She knew that eggs came from chickens but she didn’t know how Jane hid in the henhouse so she wouldn’t scare the hens Then she waited She waited for nearly four hours but was finally rewarded A hen entered the henhouse and laid an egg right in front of her 6 cats and birds that visited the park near her house She collected insects and worms At age four Jane already had the mind of a scientist She wanted to learn about animals so she observed them She watched and learned Then she shared her new knowledge with anyone who would listen Often that was her mother Jane’s mother encouraged her to explore and learn more about animals Europe at War In 1939 when Jane was five years old her world changed as countries around the world entered World War II 1939 1945 Germany led by Adolf Hitler began invading other countries in Europe
The Birches After her father joined the military to fight in World War II Jane her mother and her sister moved to the Birches The Birches is the name of the house Jane’s mother grew up in It is located in Bournemouth a village in southwest England right on the English Channel Living at the Birches allowed Jane’s love for nature and animals to grow Today the Birches is still a family home Jane’s sister lives there and so does Jane when she is not traveling around the world 7 Jane’s father joined the British Army Jane her mother and Jane’s sister moved to a new home in Bournemouth Jane’s two aunts also lived with them Warfare destroyed cities and left many people homeless Two homeless women came to live with Jane and her family With many people living in their home Jane learned that everyone had to work together no matter their differences Jane had a loving family and a happy home but she could never forget the terrible suffering caused by the war News reports of war made Jane think about how people
D u r i n g Wo r l d W a r I I G e r m a n f o r c e s b o m b e d L o n d o n and other cities could be cruel Hitler’s cruelty led him to imprison and kill 6 million Jewish people during the war This mass killing became known as the Holocaust When the war ended in 1945 Jane was 11 years old She was grateful that her father returned home from the war when so many other men did not But she began to ask new questions She wondered how people could behave in such cruel ways 8
The Animal Lover Jane found comfort observing and spending time with the animals at the house in Bournemouth She had many pets including cats birds guinea pigs and tortoises Her favorite pet was a dog named Rusty Rusty followed Jane as she explored the natural world around her When she wanted to be alone Jane read stories about animals Her favorite books were The Wind in the Willows The Story of Doctor Dolittle and The Jungle Book She also loved reading Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan books In those books baby Tarzan is adopted by a family of apes after his human parents die While reading about Tarzan Jane imagined living in Africa with animal friends especially apes just like Tarzan When she told her mother about her dreams her mother encouraged her Jane’s mother told her that if she worked hard she could make her dream come true 9
