![]() It was an exciting day when I observed, for the first time, a chimpanzee using and making tools to “fish” termites from their nests. At first the chimpanzees ran away as soon as they saw me, but once I gained their trust I soon realized just how similar they are to us. National Geographic Creative / Hugo van Lawick Gombe, Tanzania - Jane formed a close bond with young Fifi. ![]() He took me despite my lack of academic credentials - or even because of them as he wanted someone with a mind uncluttered by the reductionist scientific thinking of the time. He felt that a knowledge of the primate most like us would help him to better understand the probable behavior of our Stone Age ancestors whose fossilized remains he was excavating. He was impressed by my knowledge of African animals (I had read every book I could find) and sent me to observe chimpanzees in what was then Tanganyika. (I worked as a waitress to save enough money to go.) And it was in Kenya that I met the eminent paleontologist, Dr Louis Leakey. Opportunity came with a letter from a school friend inviting me for a holiday to Kenya. I couldn’t afford to go to university so I got a secretarial job in London. They thought I was very weird, but then I thought they were very weird, too. I remember being surrounded by girls who said to me, “Don’t you dream of being a lady-in-waiting?” I replied, “Absolutely not – I want to live among wild animals.” They recoiled in horror. Obviously to me, this was completely absurd but I had to humor Michael, and so I lined up in Buckingham Palace to shake hands with the Queen. Michael was keen to present me at court as a debutante - in those days society girls had a season of dances and balls - a kind of marriage market. ![]() My paternal uncle was Sir Michael Spens, son of Lord Patrick Spens. I remember a very funny time in my life just before I got to Africa. I’ve shared that message with young people around the world, and so many have thanked me, and said, “You taught me that because you did it, I can do it too.” I wish mum was around to hear the way her message to me has touched so many lives. It was only my mother who supported my dream: “You’ll have to work hard, take advantage of opportunities and never give up,” she’d tell me. Dolittle, Tarzan and Mowgli in The Jungle Book - all male characters. I didn’t have any female explorers or scientists to look up to but I was inspired by Dr. When I was a little girl, I used to dream as a man, because I wanted to do things that women didn’t do back then such as traveling to Africa, living with wild animals and writing books.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |