Jane Goodall speaks with students at the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation. Photo courtesy of Ricardo Stanoss, Academic Program Manager, Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation.
A small group of Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation students were recently treated to an impromptu visit from Jane Goodall.
Goodall, perhaps the most well-known conservationist and primatologist in the world, visited the school last month as part of her work with the Jane Goodall Institute, and took a few minutes to talk to the students about her work.
“She’s an amazing storyteller. She closes her eyes, and I’m imagining her imagining this exact scene going on in her head,” said Michelle Kott, a student at the Front Royal-based school of conservation.
Like Goodall, Kott said she wants to work with wild animals, particularly on early stage cell development and in-vitro fertilization of big cats.
Goodall spoke about her work with chimpanzees and how she was able to gain the trust of the entire group by getting a chimp she named “David Greybeard” to first trust her.
One day while the chimps were on the move through the forest, Goodall said, she fell behind and feared she was lost. She continued walking and saw David Greybeard sitting by himself at the edge of the woods, apparently waiting for her to catch up.
“She offered him a nut,” said Zuri Gagnon, another student of the conservation school, recalling Goodall’s talk. “He swipes the nut out of her hand and onto the ground as if to say, ‘Thanks, but that’s not necessary.’ And then he takes her hand and squeezes it.
“It’s amazing that she’s been in the field of conservation for so many years and she’s still out here inspiring [those of] us that are just getting started.”
The junior biology major, concentrating in environmental and conservation biology, said she wants to continue researching elephant health and conservation.
“They are kind of like my chimps,” Gagnon said.
Kott, who is enrolled at the school of conservation but studying animal veterinarian science at Clemson University, said she appreciates Goodall’s holistic approach to conservation. She praised Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program, a youth service program created to foster respect and compassion for animals and the environment, for promoting interconnectedness and demonstrating that helping the community is helping nature.