Chimpanzee Memoirs : Stories of Studying and Saving Our Closest Living Relatives

Chimpanzees fascinate people for many reasons. We are struck by the apes’ resemblance to humanity, as seen in their use of tools and their complex social lives, and we are moved by the threats that human activity poses to them. Our awareness of our closest living relatives testifies to the efforts of the remarkable people who study these creatures and work to protect them. What motivates someone to dedicate their lives to chimpanzees? How does that reflect on our own species? This book brings together a range of chimpanzee experts who tell powerful personal stories about their lives and careers. It features some of the world’s preeminent primatologists—including Jane Goodall and Frans de Waal—as well as representatives of a new generation from varied backgrounds. In addition to field scientists, the book features anthropologists, biologists, psychologists, veterinarians, conservationists, and the director of a chimpanzee sanctuary. Some grew up in the English countryside, others in villages in Congo; some first encountered chimpanzees in a zoo, others in the forests surrounding their homes. All are united by a common purpose: to study and understand chimpanzees in order to protect them in the wild and care for them in zoos and sanctuaries. Contributors share what inspired them, what shaped their career choices, and what motivates them to strive for solutions to the many challenges that chimpanzees face today. "It was apparent to all who attended the Chimpanzees in Context symposium (2016) that the breadth of experience and collective understanding of our closest living relatives extended far beyond that which could be expressed in strictly empirical terms. Many of the contributors to the meeting have spent literally decades of their life dedicated to understanding chimpanzees and the insights from those investigations now permeate the world's understanding of nonhuman animals and equally, our own species. Steve Ross and Lydia Hopper of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago seek to compose an engaging and unique volume aimed at illustrating how the study of chimpanzees relates to three interrelated concepts: inspiration, reflection and compassion. Much has been written about if and how chimpanzees are capable of these and other mental constructs, but in this volume, the lens is turned around toward the primatologists themselves. What have we learned from decades of chimpanzee study and how do those findings relate to the daily lives of humans? What forces shaped the study of our closest living relative and how does that reflect on our own species? In this collection, a preeminent group of scientists will have the opportunity to tell their personal stories about their lives studying chimpanzees. These stories are meant to reflect as much as project, and the collective wisdom of the selected authors will permeate the volume into something that generates interest in chimpanzees but also inspires reflection in a broad audience of readers"-- Provided by publisher