Jane Page #2

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It simply wasn't there.

Going to Africa,

living with animals.

That's all I ever thought about.

We were by no

means a wealthy family, so

university wasn't an option.

But I still wanted to

work with animals in

some far off place.

I got a job as a waitress.

I saved my wages and my

tips, every penny I could...

to get me to Africa.

But even though I was

living my childhood dream, I

couldn't help but be concerned

because I couldn't get

close to the chimps.

I didn't know if they

would ever get used to me.

And time was running out.

How frustrating

was it trying to study

them in those early days?

-It was probably mostly

frustrating because

they kept running away.

And while chimpanzees are

running away from you, you

can't really get down to the

details of their behavior and

in the back of my mind it was

always the fear if I don't

find out something exciting.

The money will

run out cause all my earlier

observations were either chimps

close up running away

or sitting on the peak

or some other spot and

watching them

through binoculars.

And so, you know, from

those early observations

it was very clear

that I wasn't really

learning anything much.

I'd been in Gombe

for five months.

It had been a

frustrating morning.

I had tramped up and down

three different valleys

in search of chimps,

but had found none.

I soon recognized

the adult male less

fearful than the others whom I

already knew by sight

because of the distinctive

white hair on his chin.

And unlike the

others, he didn't run.

After months of patient

and tireless observation,

I had been rewarded.

The chimps had accepted me.

And gradually I was able to

penetrate further and further

into a magic world that no

human had explored before.

The world of the

wild chimpanzees.

Finally, I was

allowed to observe the

chimpanzees closely.

I learned that chimpanzees

spend long hours

in grooming sessions.

They, like us, need friendly

contact and reassurance.

As I got to know them as

individuals I named them.

David Greybeard, with

his calm and dignified

personality and often

he was accompanied

by the top ranking male

at the time, Goliath.

Mr. McGregor, a somewhat

belligerent old male,

and then there was Flo,

with her bulbous nose and

ragged ears along with

her infant daughter Fifi.

Staring into

the eyes of a chimpanzee,

I saw a thinking,

reasoning personality

looking back.

I was learning from some

of the most fascinating

creatures of our times.

And I realized that they

were all part of one group.

A community.

And the more I learned,

the more I realized how like

us they were in so many ways.

At that time in the early

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