ZAP’S FACTS!
SCIENTISTS

Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees make and use tools.

At 26 she walked into a Tanzanian forest with notebooks and binoculars and proved humans aren't the only toolmakers.

2 min read
Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees make and use tools.
THE FULL STORY

Jane Goodall loved animals from the day she was born - her favorite childhood toy was a stuffed chimpanzee named Jubilee, which she kept her whole life. She had no university degree when, in 1960, she set off into a forest in Tanzania to live among wild chimpanzees.

Most scientists at the time gave their study animals numbers. Jane gave hers names: David Greybeard, Flo, Frodo. She watched them hug, tickle, fight, and grieve. One day she saw David Greybeard pick up a thin twig, peel off the leaves, and dip it into a termite mound to pull out a snack.

This was huge. Until that moment, most scientists believed only humans made and used tools. Her famous teacher, Louis Leakey, sent her a telegram: “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.” Jane is still campaigning for animals - in her 90s - today.

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