CHAPTER ONE CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 5 Jane Goodall had been roaming the steep hills and thorny thickets of Gombe Stream Nature Preserve since first light one morning in August 1960 Like most other days since she had arrived in Tanzania one month previously she had not seen any of the elusive creatures she'd come to study The country's dense forests and valleys she had discovered might be the ideal places for a chimpanzee but they were not the most pleasant environment for a human who wished to observe the animals up close Many days she heard chimps and she occasionally spied them far off through binoculars Usually though they were long gone by the time she reached the place where she first spotted them Reports from locals said more than 150 chimps lived in Jane Goodall was 26 years old when she began her research at Gombe Stream Nature Preserve
Gombe Stream the Gombe preserve but Goodall had not seen more than a few dozen Although she was frustrated Goodall knew the chimps had good reason to keep their distance Gombe Stream became a national park in 1968 Located approximately 10 miles 16 km north of the town of Kigoma Tanzania the park encompasses only 20 square miles 52 sq km making it the smallest of Tanzania's national parks Dense jungle covers much of the area and the terrain is rugged and hilly The park sits along the northern end of Lake Tanganyika Approximately 410 miles 660 km long and from 10 to 45 miles 16 to 72 km wide this lake is essentially a long narrow inland sea holding some of the purest and clearest water in Africa It is also the second deepest lake in the world with a depth of 4,710 feet 1 436 m Relations between chimps and local villagers had never been particularly peaceful Hunters illegally caught chimps for food or the pet trade or killed them as pests for raiding crops gardens and sometimes homes Over the next few months Goodall learned that getting close enough to observe the daily habits of the secretive and wary creatures was more than frustrating and bewildering It was often downright dangerous Gombe's treacherous terrain was full of cliffs and jagged rocks hidden by lush foliage The thick grasslands and jungles provided ample cover for baboons leopards and some of the world's most venomous snakes Insects were a particular problem especially Africa's notorious tsetse flies and disease carrying mosquitos Two military surplus tents provided only little protection Within three months of
7 their arrival Goodall and her mother Vanne who had come to help her get settled were stricken with malaria Both spent more than a week with raging fevers barely able to leave their cots Despite the difficulties Goodall was not the kind of person to give up easily on a dream particularly one she'd had since she was eight years old As soon as her fever subsided though still weak from her illness she resumed her daily search for the chimps FIRST ENCOUNTERS That steamy August day had been business as usual She had seen a few chimps and pursued them slowly and carefully not attempting to hide or keep particularly quiet Her experience with animals told her sneaking up on them was not the best way to establish trust The chimps knew she was there She decided to wait for them to come to her with the same sense of curiosity and wonder she felt for them Goodall found a strategic point to survey the valley and sat that afternoon on a high point she named the Peak This became her favorite place because of the wide panoramic view it provided of the surrounding hills cliffs and valleys and of the glistening Lake Tanganyika Occasionally when she was lucky Goodall's strategic high perch allowed glimpses of chimps
