By Steve Dale

At 85 years of age, Dame Jane Goodall is as observant as ever. She instantly spots the gorilla motif on my tie, a souvenir from a trip to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. She also observes I'm writing a story for a veterinary publication.

"Veterinarians are very important, you know," she tells me at a fundraiser in Chicago for the Jane Goodall Institute earlier this year. "I so appreciate what they do, not only for our pets, but now in the wild, as well."

Sadly, all great ape populations are diminishing, including her beloved chimpanzees. The only exception is the mountain gorillas found in the Virunga Mountains in Central Africa. The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project—or "gorilla doctors" as they are more commonly known—are veterinarians who treat gorillas on the spot. Happily, removing snares occurs less frequently, but gorillas do get injured or sick (sometimes as a result of close contact with humans due to ecotourism). The gorilla docs are notified instantly by guides who take tourists to see the gorillas.

Goodall says initiatives such as reinvesting tourist dollars to protect the gorillas, controlling tourists numbers, and providing veterinary care are all responsible for the success of the species.

She says she is a fan of ecotourism when it's managed properly. "Unfortunately, it can get out of hand, destroying the very nature people travel so far to see," she says.

I told Goodall the hottest thing going on now in veterinary medicine is an initiative called Fear Free, which she hadn't heard of. When I explained the concept, she said the idea resonates with her. Considering animal emotions is something she once fought for.

Striking out on her own

It's hard to think of Goodall as a controversial figure, but when she first began her observational notes on chimpanzee behavior at Gombe National Park in Tanzania in the early 1960s, she was criticized by her colleagues for naming her subjects, recording individual personality traits, and documenting emotions.

"I was told to give the chimps numbers, not names," she says. "Scientists then were outraged that I actually recorded and wrote about individual personalities and emotions because according to them, personalities and emotions were restricted only to humans. As a child, I learned from my dog and other dogs in the neighborhood—they all had their own personalities." Goodall pauses and laughs, "Of course, anyone with pet cats and dogs has known this for a very long time."

Goodall persevered in her decision, adding that since she knew dogs expressed and felt various emotions—similar to our own—the same must be true for our closest relatives. She smiles at this point, holding up plush animals she had laid out on the sofa next to her. "This is why I travel with Ratty (a plush rat). Even rats have feelings," she says, as she holds it up. "And cows. It's horrible how we sometimes treat cows, as if they have no feelings, but they do. And pigs… they're as smart as dogs," she adds while showing me her plush cow and pig.

Goodall says that by the time she received her PhD at the University of Cambridge, her work was publicized by National Geographic, and chimps she had named, such as David Greybeard, Mr. McGregor, and Goliath, were known to TV audiences. At that time, this further outraged the scientific community. "I was told I was doing everything wrong," she says. "Their feeling was I couldn't write or talk about animal emotions because they don't exist."

Of course, fast forward the clock to today. We know that based on neurochemistry found in their brains, animals do feel real emotions. And of course, all great apes have nearly identical brain chemistry to ours.

Goodall supports the notion of Fear Free. "I do know there are ways of alleviating fear in animals," she says. "Why wouldn't we help to fix it?"

Unwavering commitment

Today, Goodall travels nonstop across the globe, more than 300 days a year, as an advocate for protecting the planet. And there's talk of her earning a Nobel Peace Prize because she's making the world a better place for humans, animals, and the entire planet.

Back at Gombe, the Jane Goodall Institute is affording people improved health care and education, and offering various tools to get out of poverty, all in ways they were unaccustomed to previously. "So now, cutting down the forests is no longer necessary to improve their lives," she says. "They now understand that saving the forests isn't only saving chimpanzees and other wildlife—it will also save future generations of their people. So they've become partners with the environment. Where there were barren hills around Gombe, now trees have come back." This program is a model that now has been replicated in six other African countries.

Goodall adds we must have hope, and that lies with children. That's one reason why she launched her Roots and Shoots program for children with 12 students in Tanzania in 1991. Today, this program operates in 50 nations, and by now, many thousands of young people have completed it.

"The idea is that whether you live in China or the U.S. or in Africa, we are all the same," she says. "True, we live in different environments, our cultures may be different, and our religions may be different, but we share two fundamental facts. We are all human. And we all live on the same planet. Each Roots and Shoots program chooses three projects: one to help animals, one to help people, and another to help the environment. I think we have around 2,000 groups across China alone."

She continues, "I am confident young people are rising to the challenge. They must. It's our future. They realize what's happening. They can't ignore climate change, how forests are disappearing, and how our oceans are filled with plastics. They are our hope for tomorrow.

"Every single day, every single one of us makes an impact on the planet," she adds. "We have a choice about what that impact will be. And consider even the little choices, like what we buy. Did it harm animals? Will it harm the environment? Is it cheap because of child slave labor? If we make ethical choices together—millions of us—it will matter. We can all make a difference."

Officially, Goodall is a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Unofficially, I suggest she is an ambassador for the planet. She has touched millions of lives, but that's clearly not enough—the world remains a dangerous place, and our planet itself is at risk as a result of climate change. She agrees the Nobel Prize would allow her to reach millions more.

Still, even Goodall must take a breath every now and then. I asked her what makes her happiest? "The serenity of being out in a forest," she says. "And spending time with a dog," she pauses, as I note that we evolved with dogs. "That's right, and dogs are very special and so are those who care for them."

Steve Dale is a certified animal behavior consultant who speaks at animal welfare and veterinary conferences. Visit his website at stevedale.tv. Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Veterinary Practice News.