Thoughts: Where we’ve been & where we’re headed, with Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall has perfected the art of patience. The world-renowned primatologist, now 80, spent decades of her youth calmly stalking wild chimpanzees through Gombe Stream National Park, including long stretches of frustration — and a bout of malaria — before the astute apes let her close enough to study them. That persistence paid off, of course, as Goodall made historic discoveries about chimpanzee behavior that changed the way we see not just our closest living relatives, but also ourselves.

Patience isn’t the same as complacency, though. The diligence that helped Goodall shed light on Gombe’s chimps in her 20s now nurtures a sense of urgency in her 80s. She defies her age by traveling nearly nonstop, campaigning to protect the habitats and well-being of not just chimps, but wild and captive animals worldwide. Goodall spends 300 days a year traveling for various speeches, interviews, conferences and fundraisers, leaving little time to pause and reflect on her inspirational career.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/blogs/jane-goodall-explains-empathy-and-why-kids-need-pets#ixzz3LhwlbC8n