Gombe Stream Research Center at 65: How 65 Years of Chimpanzee Research Changed Science, Conservation, and Our Understanding of Ourselves

Gombe Stream Research Center at 65: How 65 Years of Chimpanzee Research Changed Science, Conservation, and Our Understanding of Ourselves

Gombe Stream Research Center at 65: How 65 Years of Chimpanzee Research Changed Science, Conservation, and Our Understanding of Ourselves Photo by: Hugo van Lawick Every World Chimpanzee Day on July 14, we celebrate not only our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom—but also one of the most important places in the history of science and conservation: JGI’s Gombe Stream Research Center in Tanzania. This year marks 65 years of continuous research at Gombe Stream Research Center—the world’s longest-running wild chimpanzee study, driving groundbreaking discoveries in primatology, chimpanzee behavior, and wildlife conservation. In this article (click to jump to a section): It all began in 1960 when a 26-year-old Jane Goodall arrived in what is now Gombe, Tanzania. What began with a young woman and a notebook has evolved into one of the world’s longest-running, technology-driven wildlife studies—reshaping how we understand chimpanzees and other primates, the natural world, and what it…