Page 15 - Local Voices, Local Choices Excerpt

Chapter 8
Local ambassadors: learning from and speaking for the chimps
Gabo Paulo, Eslom Mpongo, Fatuma Kifumu, and Yahaya Almas reflect on decades of chimp observation
at Gombe
As part of the longest continuous African great ape research pro- gram in history, the chimpanzees of Gombe have contributed significantly to the fields of ecology, evolution, and behavioral
science. Jane’s earliest discoveries are in fact still today the subject of follow-on research. Through her observations and publications, this pop- ulation has brought previously unknown chimp behaviors and character- istics to the world stage. We now know that chimps modify sticks and stems to make tools for termite fishing, they form coordinated hunting parties and prey upon other primates and vertebrates, they can be can- nibals, they form deep mother-infant and sibling bonds, and they show empathy and compassion towards other individuals. They’ve also shown that mutiny, political alliance, and social organization strategies are all part of their daily lives.
The legacy of these discoveries has led to detailed records of some 350 individual chimps, generated more than 300 research-based publica- tions, lured more than 250 individual researchers to Gombe, and spawned
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