The woman who changed the way we view chimps visits Majorca

PALMA
THE renowned British primatologist, Jane Goodall, visits Palma next week.
Goodall, who will spend Wednesday and Thursday in Palma participating in various events, gained worldwide fame over 40 years ago for her research into the behaviour of chimpanzees.

Goodall was 26 when she arrived on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in 1960 to study the local chimpanzee population.
She had been interested in animals since childhood, ever since her father had given her a toy chimpanzee called Jubilee for her second birthday.
Her observations during that first and subsequent field trips to Gombe National Park were to have a significant effect on the field of primatology.
Initially, the chimps would run away when Jane came close but little by little they allowed her to approach. She observed that chimps ate bushpigs and other animals, thus disproving the previously-held belief that they were primarily vegetarians.

She also saw chimps strip twigs to fashion basic tools and engage in long-term warfare, changing the way primatologists viewed chimpanzee behaviour.
In 1977, she set up the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation to provide support for field research into wild chimpanzees.

Goodall will give a press conference at the CaixaForum in Palma on Wednesday afternoon to deal with some current issues including the current situation regarding the protection and conservation of the world's great apes and proposals to end experimentation on animals to be presented before the European Parliament.

That evening at 8.30, there will be a private benefit event during which Goodall will give a talk about her experiences studying and living with wild chimpanzees throughout the years.

All proceeds from the event, which will include cocktails, will go towards helping the chimpanzees' Tchimpounga Recuperation Centre, the largest of its kind in Africa.

Tickets for this exclusive event are available online at www.janegoodall.es or on 646 91 52 20.
On Thursday evening, Goodall will give a talk on “Conserving Biodiversity: a challenge for us all”, during which she will talk about the great environmental challenges facing the planet and the tools we need to face them.

The theme of the talk will be that everyone can make a difference through information, empathy and action, from daily acts of consumption to large conservation programmes in Africa.

Goodall will also visit the Dragonera natural reserve accompanied by a group of local ecologists during her visit to Majorca.