VIsit us on Facebook...
Highland Conservancy
  • HC Blog
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • How You Can Help
  • Related Groups
  • Contact Us

The Power of One - A Tribute to Jane Goodall by Katheryn Krupa

1/12/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Photo from JaneGoodall.org
I just finished reading an excellent biography by Jane Goodall called Reason for Hope.  In it she shares interesting details about her work studying and living with chimps in Africa, her breakthroughs and personal journey.  The most disturbing aspect of the story for me was the revelation (or reminder) that over 1,000 chimps still are used in medical research in the United States.  Wanting to know more, I visited a variety of websites with pros and cons on animal research labs along with her website to see if I could find out more details on the need for this kind of work.  It was upsetting to see that our country (and Gabon) are the only two countries still using chimps for medical research despite the fact they are poor models for human disease research.  Her data reports that "despite chimpanzees sharing between 96 to 98 percent of the same DNA as humans, that small variation accounts for some major differences in the way diseases tend to behave and affect the two species."  I was surprised to learn that over 1,000 chimps still are kept in small, sterile, isolated cages for most of their lives (50 or more years) bored, frightened and with little chance for socializing or stimulation.  There are much more ethical avenues for research that would give better results for humans.  I encourage you to do your own studies and research and make your own decision.  This quote from the book really hit home for me after Jane Goodall visited a chimp named JoJo in a medical research facility:
“I knelt down in front of JoJo, and he reached as much of his hand as he could between the thick bars that formed a barrier between us. The bars were all around him, on every side, above and below. He had already been in this tiny prison for at least ten years; ten years of utter boredom interspersed with periods of fear and pain. There was nothing in his cage save an old motor tire for him to sit on. And he had no opportunity to contact others of his kind. I looked into his eyes. There was no hatred there, only a sort of gratitude because I had stopped to talk to him,. Helped to break the terrible grinding monotony of the day. Gently he groomed the ridges where my nails pressed against the thin rubber of the gloves I had been given, along with mask and paper cap. I pushed my hand in between the bars and, lips smacking, he groomed the hairs on the back of my wrist, peeling the glove down.
JoJo’s mother had been shot in Africa. Could he remember that life? I wondered. Did he sometimes dream of the great trees with the breeze rustling through the canopy, the birds singing, the comfort of his mother’s arms? I thought of David Greybeard and the other chimpanzees of Gombe. I looked again at JoJo  as he groomed me, and my vision blurred. Not for him the freedom to choose each day how we would spend his time and where and with whom. There was no comfort for him of soft forest floor or leafy nest high in the treetops. And the sounds of nature were gone too, the tumbling of the streams, the roar of the waterfall through the dim greens and browns of the forest world, the winds rustling and sighing in the branches, the scuttlings of little creatures moving through the leaves, the chimpanzee calls rising, so clear, from the distant hills."For more information, and to support legislation to change these inhumane conditions, visit: http://www.janegoodall.org/action 
http://zenpencils.com/comic/goodall/
0 Comments

    Author

    This is our ongoing blog with articles on the environment, local news and events, and issues related to land conservation. 

    Archives

    February 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    December 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017
    October 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    June 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    May 2010

    Categories

    All
    Conservation
    Earth Day
    Endangered Species
    Environmental News
    Local Events
    Science

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.