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World-famous primatologist Jane Goodall said chimpanzees and other endangered primates feel emotion and compassion, and humans have a duty to protect these thoughtful creatures.
Goodall spoke to a full crowd at Abravanel Hall on Tuesday as part of the Lyceum II lecture series evening program sponsored by the College of Humanities.
To show that chimpanzee's feel emotion, Goodall told a story about a zookeeper who feel into a chimpanzee habitat. The worker accidentally hurt a baby chimp and was attacked by mother chimpanzees. Then Oldman, a male chimpanzee who had been abused by humans, broke up the fight and gave the man time to escape.
Oldman was compassionate, so why, then, can't we, as intelligent beings, show compassion to the animal world and to one another, Jane Goodall said.
More than 2,500 people crowded the hall to hear Jane Goodall, poet Terry Tempest Williams and a local folk music band.
"To hear (Goodall) in person helped fortify (my) understanding on means for peace, and she reminded us we're the extensions, the 'roots and shoots' of Jane Goodall," said Leigh Bernacchi, a U alumna and adjunct professor. "I wanted to hear Jane Goodall in person -- she's so iconic."
Goodall talked about her first encounter with chimpanzees, recalling how "they had never seen a white chimp before."
In time, however, the chimpanzees learned that she wanted to be their friend, and one chimpanzee came up to her and squeezed her fingers as a sign of reassurance. Goodall said despite the fact that the chimpanzees had no verbal language, they can communicate, feel and have personalities just like humans.
Having the ability to express oneself verbally puts humans "in a position of responsibility with the rest of the planet," Goodall said.
Goodall arrived in the Tanzanian jungle in 1960 and lived and worked with chimpanzees until 1986. She has since traveled around the world talking about chimpanzees and the importance of protecting the environment.
"I had heard about Jane Goodall before, and she has a lot of important things to say about the environment," said Katherine Howell-Dinger, a sophomore in English and gender studies.
Throughout the evening, Philip Bimstein and Red Rock Rondo performed folk music with environmental themes and Williams narrated a descriptive account of the prairie dog's plight in Utah and questioned what effects development in Southern Utah is having on the balance between nature and mankind.
"Every single day we make an impact on the world and we decide what kind of impact we make," Goodall said.
e.zuniga@chronicle.utah.edu
