chimpanzees

What Jane Goodall Has Taught Us About Chimpanzees

The world premiere of the 2025 EST/Sloan Project production, HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL AND HER MOTHER?, written by Michael Walek and directed by Linsay Firman, begins previews on March 5 at the Ensemble Studio Theatre and runs through March 30. You can purchase tickets here.

This 2024/2025 season marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the EST/Sloan Project, the joint initiative between the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Ensemble Studio Theatre “designed to stimulate artists to create credible and compelling work exploring the worlds of science and technology and to challenge the existing stereotypes of scientists and engineers in the popular imagination.” In that spirit, we offer this essay on Jane Goodall’s wide-ranging contributions to science.

What Jane Goodall Has Taught Us About Chimpanzees

By Rich Kelley

The brilliant new comedy, HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL AND HER MOTHER?, recreates the first six months of primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall’s first expedition to Tanganyika in 1960 to observe chimpanzees in the wild. The observations Goodall began then—and continued for thirty years—revolutionized our understanding of nonhuman primates. Primatology, ethology, and the practice of field observation have never been the same since.

The field work of Goodall and the colleagues she assembled in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania has led to major discoveries about chimpanzee behavior, communication, social structures, and even their darker tendencies. These discoveries not only reshaped scientific perceptions of chimpanzees but also challenged our understanding of the boundaries between humans and animals, calling attention to the profound similarities we share with our closest living relatives.

Consider the range of these findings:

Social Structures and Hierarchies

Chimpanzees live in dynamic communities that can range from fifteen to over one hundred.

Chimpanzee meeting Uganda Wildlife Conservation Centre Entebbe Uganda 2018 Photo Elisha Muwanguzi CC 4.0

As Jane Goodall documented, these communities have distinct hierarchies and are fluid, with members frequently splitting into smaller subgroups (parties) for activities like foraging, traveling, or resting. Unlike many other animals, chimpanzees form long-term bonds and maintain extensive social networks.

Chimpanzee communities are typically led by an alpha male, who gains his position through physical strength, intelligence, and familial and political alliances.

Alpha male chimpanzee walking at Kibale forest National Park, Uganda 2022  Photo: Giles Laurent CCA 4.0

Goodall observed that these dominant males have priority access to resources, mating opportunities, and influence over group decisions. But chimpanzee societies are not static. Power struggles, alliances, and betrayals are common, leading to frequent shifts in the social hierarchy. The alpha male is not necessarily the strongest individual but often the most socially adept, capable of manipulating group dynamics to maintain power. Goodall documented instances where lower-ranking males formed coalitions to overthrow an alpha male, demonstrating a level of strategic thinking and cooperation previously thought to be unique to humans.

 

Grooming is a vital social activity that serves both hygiene and social functions,

A group of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) grooming each other, Gombe Stream National Park 2010 Photo: ikiwaner GNU License 1.2

Grooming reduces tension and reinforces relationships within the group. Chimpanzees experience conflicts, but they also engage in reconciliation behaviors, such as embracing or grooming after a fight, to restore social harmony.

Maternal Bonds and Learning

Mother chimpanzees are highly attentive to their infants, carrying them constantly, nursing them, and protecting them from harm.

Chimpanzee mother climbing a tree with its baby at Kibale forest National Park, Uganda 2022 Photo: Giles Laurent CCA 4.0

Goodall observed that young chimpanzees spend several years heavily dependent on their mothers. This extended period of dependency allows for the transmission of knowledge and traditions across generations, a phenomenon previously thought to be unique to humans. Chimpanzee mothers provide comfort and reassurance to their infants. When a young chimp is frightened or upset, it will often run to its mother for safety and comfort. The bond between a mother and her offspring can last for many years, even after the young chimp reaches adulthood. Goodall observed adult chimpanzees maintaining close relationships with their mothers, often seeking their company and support. Daughters often mirrored the parenting behavior of their mothers.

 

Mothers teach their young critical skills, such as foraging food, using tools, and navigating social interactions.

Mother and child chimpanzees sharing food 2014 Photo by Blackseablue CCA 3.0

For example, Goodall observed mothers showing their offspring how to use sticks to extract termites from mounds or stones to crack nuts. These behaviors are not instinctual but are learned through observation, imitation, and practice. Mothers also engage in play with their infants, which helps the young chimps develop physical and social skills. This playful interaction strengthens their bond and prepares the infants for life within the group.

Individual Personalities

Goodall treated her chimpanzee subjects as individuals, giving them names, and demonstrated that they possess distinct personalities and temperaments. 

Jane Goodall grooming David Greybeard, the first chimp to lose his fear of her. (Photo: National Geographic Creative/Hugo Van Lawick)

One of the most enduring legacies of Goodall’s work is her recognition of individual personalities among chimpanzees. Giving subjects names rather than numbers was controversial at the time but it allowed Goodall to appreciate their unique traits and behaviors. Flo, for instance, she described as a nurturing and influential matriarch, while Mike was a clever and resourceful alpha male who used empty kerosene cans to intimidate rivals and assert dominance. “Gentle, calm, unafraid” David Graybeard has become famous as the chimpanzee who showed her that chimpanzees use tools.

Emotional Complexity and Empathy

Chimpanzees experience a wide range of emotions similar to those of humans, including grief.

One of the most poignant examples of chimpanzee empathy came from Goodall’s account of Flint, a young chimpanzee who exhibited profound grief after the death of his mother, Flo.

Video excerpt about Flo’s last days and Flint’s grief from The People of the Forest, The Chimps of Gombe (1988), Part 7, by Hugo Van Lawick (9:53)

Flint’s behavior—refusing to eat, becoming lethargic, and eventually dying himself on the same spot where his mother died—suggested that chimpanzees are capable of deep emotional attachments and can experience grief and loss in ways strikingly similar to humans. This discovery influenced scientists to reconsider the emotional capacities of animals and their ability to form meaningful relationships.

Communication and Vocalizations

Chimpanzees use a sophisticated communication system that allows them to coordinate activities, warn others of threats, and maintain social cohesion.

Learn the different sounds and gestures chimpanzees use to communicate. From Primate Models for Evolution Lab (4:09)

Goodall documented a wide array of vocalizations, gestures, and facial expressions that chimpanzees use to convey information and emotions. For example, she identified distinct calls for food, danger, and social interactions, each with specific meanings and contexts.

In addition to vocalizations, Goodall observed that chimpanzees use body language and gestures to communicate. For instance, a submissive chimpanzee might crouch or present its back to a dominant individual, while an aggressive chimpanzee might puff up its fur, stomp, or throw objects to intimidate rivals.

Hunting and Meat-Eating

Chimpanzees are not strictly herbivorous but also engage in hunting and meat eating.

Ugandan chimps hunting from Life of Mammals BBC Earth (3:40)

Before Goodall’s research, chimpanzees were thought to be primarily vegetarian, with occasional insect consumption. However, Goodall observed chimpanzees hunting and eating smaller primates, such as colobus monkeys, in coordinated group efforts. This behavior revealed a level of cooperation and planning previously unrecognized in nonhuman animals.

The hunting parties often involved strategic roles, with some chimpanzees acting as drivers to herd the prey while others ambushed or captured it. The group then shared the meat, though not always equally. Goodall noted that the distribution of meat often followed social lines, with dominant individuals receiving larger shares and using meat as a political tool to strengthen alliances or assert dominance. This discovery challenged the simplistic view of chimpanzees as peaceful vegetarians and demonstrated their capacity for violence and strategic thinking.

Conflict and Warfare

One finding that shocked Goodall was discovering how territorial and violent chimpanzees could become.

Goodall observed that chimpanzee communities will aggressively defend their territory from neighboring groups. In some cases, these conflicts escalated into brutal attacks, with groups of males patrolling their borders, ambushing rivals, and killing individuals from other communities.

World War Chimp | The Brutal 1974 1978 Gombe Chimpanzee War: Documentary (9:22)

 The most infamous example of chimpanzee warfare occurred during the Gombe Chimpanzee War, a four-year conflict between two rival groups, the Kasakela and the Kahama. Goodall and her team witnessed violent raids, kidnappings, killings of males and females, and even cannibalistic feasting on the flesh of newborns. Ultimately, the Kasakela group wiped out the Kahama. This extended conflict revealed a darker side of chimpanzee behavior, challenging the romanticized view of them as peaceful, harmonious creatures.

Michael Walek on research surprises, mythologizing, rewriting, and HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL & HER MOTHER?

Michael Walek

Michael Walek

On Thursday, February 13, as part of the 2020 First Light Festival, the EST/Sloan Project is presenting two public readings—at 3 pm and 7 pm— of HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL & HER MOTHER? by Michael Walek. The first public reading of the play occurred as part of the 2019 First Light Festival. The play dramatizes the first months of twenty-six-year-old Jane Goodall’s first expedition to study chimpanzees in Africa. But why did she bring her mother? To learn why let’s ask the playwright:

 (Interview by Rich Kelley)

It was almost exactly a year ago that HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL & HER MOTHER? had its first public reading as part of the 2019 First Light Festival. How has the play changed since then?

This is an entirely new play. After a great note session with Linsay and Graeme*, I decided to take the play in a completely different direction. It is a screwball comedy instead of a bio-play. More Noel Coward than Merchant-Ivory.

What prompted you to write this particular play?

Jane Goodall and her mother Margaret “Vanne” Myfanwe Joseph in camp (Photo: Hugo Van Lawick, National Geographic Society)

Jane Goodall and her mother Margaret “Vanne” Myfanwe Joseph in camp (Photo: Hugo Van Lawick, National Geographic Society)

Growing up, my mom loved Jane Goodall. We had her books in the house, and I thought I knew her story. A few years ago, I learned that when the Tanzanian government allowed Jane Goodall to study chimpanzees, they required she bring a chaperone, so she brought her mother. The idea of a scientist bringing her mother on her first expedition sounded like a play I wanted to write. 

What research did you do?

Tons of research. I read everything I could get my hands on from her journals to her family’s letters. 

Your play creates vignettes that dramatize the first months Jane Goodall spends with her mother leading her first expedition to study chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in 1960. How did you figure out what they sounded like? Did you work with her field notes?

Luckily, many of Jane and Vanne’s letters from that time were published, so it was easy to get a sense of their writing style, words they liked, nicknames they used. I found them to be utterly charming. 

Is the relationship you dramatize between Jane and her mother your invention or based on something Jane wrote?  They are often quite funny. Is that from your imagination or based on your research?

Before I did my research, I assumed that any child living in a tent with her parent for five months would find it a stressful situation, only to discover that Jane and Vanne adored each other and never really fought. Suddenly, I had to write a play about two funny, kind people who encouraged and supported each other. 

It’s always seemed a bit preposterous that the famed anthropologist Louis Leakey would choose a secretary with no academic background or field experience to lead an expedition into the thick mountainous terrain the chimpanzees inhabited. And be able to get funding for her. Why do you think he chose Jane?

Well, she wasn’t his first choice. Jane only found this out years later, but Leakey tried to get another scientist to go into the field, but she declined. I think a lot has been made out that she was “just a secretary.” She went on a human fossil dig with Leakey and worked with him at his museum in Kenya. She was a bit more qualified, but it makes a better story if she’s this random typist. 

Jane Goodall grooming David Greybeard, the first chimp to lose his fear of her. (Photo: National Geographic Creative/Hugo Van Lawick)

Jane Goodall grooming David Greybeard, the first chimp to lose his fear of her. (Photo: National Geographic Creative/Hugo Van Lawick)

Your play focuses on the first months Jane spent in Tanganyika in 1960 and what she discovered as the first person to study chimpanzees in the wild—but also her frustration at not being able to make the major discovery she had hoped for that would justify Louis Leakey’s faith in her. When did her breakthrough observation about how chimps make tools to collect termites actually occur?

In the play, all the facts about science are true. Jane really did make her discovery in the final weeks of her first stay in Tanganyika after her mother went home.

Much has been made of how a plush toy chimpanzee Jane was given as a child may have determined her career. What do you make of that?

Young Jane Goodall with Jubilee (Photo: Courtesy of Jane Goodall Institute)

Young Jane Goodall with Jubilee (Photo: Courtesy of Jane Goodall Institute)

Again, I think this is some hindsight mythologizing. Jane would’ve studied birds if it was the assignment. It just happened to be chimpanzees. 

Rewriting is probably among the most under-appreciated, or under-discussed, aspects of playwriting.  When you begin a rewrite, do you have a particular goal in mind: give the characters more personality, make it funnier, add more science, make the transitions sharper?

This is an incredibly collaborative process, so the director and the actors and I spend a lot of time talking about the play. They all have incredible observations, so each night I have plenty of things to work on and rewrite.

Have you ever gone camping for an extended time? Spent any time observing nature? Done field research?

I absolutely hate camping, and the outdoors, which I realize makes it hysterical I wrote this play. 

You’ve been a member of EST’s Youngblood collective. How has that influenced your playwriting?

One of the best things about Youngblood is how radically different everyone’s writing is. I think Youngblood pushed me to write more like myself. I am very lucky to have been part of the collective. 

Have you written other plays about science?

 Yes. I wrote numerous plays for the Youngblood Science brunch and they were always rejected. 

When did you first know you were a playwright?

My high school had a play contest my senior year. I wrote a play, and it won. I wasn’t invited to rehearsals, so I just showed up one night and saw my play. There was a twist ending, and the audience gasped. I was completely hooked. 

*Linsay Firman is Associate Director and Graeme Gillis is Program Director of The EST Sloan Project

The 2020  EST/Sloan First Light Festival runs from January 16 through March 12 and features readings and workshop productions of ten new plays. The festival is made possible through the alliance between The Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, now in its twenty-second year.

Sloan_Logo_Primary_Web.jpg
EST-Sloan.jpg



Michael Walek on research surprises, mythologizing, camping, and HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL & HER MOTHER

Michael Walek

Michael Walek

On Tuesday, February 5, as part of the 2019 First Light Festival, the EST/Sloan Project is presenting the first public reading of HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL & HER MOTHER by Michael Walek. The play dramatizes the first months of twenty-six-year-old Jane Goodall’s first expedition to study chimpanzees in Africa. But why did she bring her mother? To learn why, let’s hear from the playwright: 

(Interview by Rich Kelley)

What prompted you to write HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL & HER MOTHER?

When I was growing up, my mom loved Jane Goodall. We had her books in the house, and I thought I knew her story. A few years ago, I learned that when the Tanzanian government allowed Jane Goodall to study chimpanzees, they required she bring a chaperone, so she brought her mother. The idea of a scientist bringing her mother on her first expedition sounded like a play I wanted to write. 

Jane Goodall and her mother Margaret “Vanne” Myfanwe Joseph in camp (Photo: Hugo Van Lawick, National Geographic Society)

Jane Goodall and her mother Margaret “Vanne” Myfanwe Joseph in camp (Photo: Hugo Van Lawick, National Geographic Society)

What research did you do to write your play?

Tons of research. I read everything I could get my hands on from her journals to her family’s letters. 

Your play creates vignettes that dramatize the first months Jane Goodall spends with her mother leading her first expedition to study chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in 1960. How did you figure out what they sounded like? Did you work with her field notes?

Luckily, many of Jane and Vanne’s letters from that time were published, so it was easy to get a sense of their writing style, words they liked, nicknames they used. I found them to be utterly charming. 

Is the relationship you dramatize between Jane and her mother your invention or based on something Jane wrote?  They are often quite funny. Is that from your imagination or based on your research?

Before I did my research, I assumed that any child living in a tent with her parent for five months would find it a stressful situation, only to discover that Jane and Vanne adored each other and never really fought. Suddenly, I had to write a play about two funny, kind people who encouraged and supported each other. 

Jane Goodall grooming David Greybeard, the first chimp to lose his fear of her.

Jane Goodall grooming David Greybeard, the first chimp to lose his fear of her.

It’s always seemed a bit preposterous that the famed anthropologist Louis Leakey would choose a secretary with no academic background or field experience to lead an expedition into the thick mountainous terrain the chimpanzees inhabited. And be able to get funding for her. Why do you think he chose Jane?

Well, she wasn’t his first choice. Jane only found this out years later, but Leakey tried to get another scientist to go into the field, but she declined. I think a lot has been made out that she was “just a secretary.” She went on a human fossil dig with Leakey and worked with him at his museum in Kenya. She was a bit more qualified, but it makes a better story if she’s this random typist. 

Have you ever gone camping for an extended time? Spent any time observing nature? Done field research?

I absolutely hate camping, and the outdoors, which I realize makes it hysterical I wrote this play. 

Young Jane Goodall with Jubilee

Young Jane Goodall with Jubilee

Much has been made of how Jubilee, a plush toy chimpanzee Jane was given as a child, may have determined her career. Were you ever given something as a child that shaped your life?

Again, I think this is some hindsight mythologizing. Jane would’ve studied birds if it was the assignment. It just happened to be chimpanzees.  

You’ve been a member of EST’s Youngblood collective. How has that influenced your playwriting?

One of the best things about Youngblood is how radically different everyone’s writing is. I think Youngblood pushed me to write more like myself. I am very lucky to have been part of the collective. 

Have you written other plays about science?

Yes. I wrote numerous plays for the Youngblood Science brunch and they were always rejected. 

When did you first know you were a playwright?

My high school had a play contest my senior year. I wrote a play, and it won. I wasn’t invited to rehearsals, so I just showed up one night and saw my play. There was a twist ending, and the audience gasped. I was completely hooked. 

The 2019 EST/Sloan First Light Festival runs from January 28 through March 1 and features readings and workshop productions of ten new plays. The climax of every EST/Sloan season is the annual Mainstage Production, which this year was the world premiere of BEHIND THE SHEET by Charly Evon Simpson. Directed by Colette Robert, BEHIND THE SHEET confronts the history of a great medical breakthrough by telling the forgotten story of a community of enslaved black women who involuntarily enabled the discovery. Previews began January 9 and the show runs through March 10. Tickets can be purchased here. The First Light Festival is made possible through the alliance between The Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, now in its twentieth year. 

Sloan_Logo_Primary_Web.jpg
EST-Sloan.jpg