Getting to Know Jane Goodall.

• Author: Bresler, Ralph
• Position: Essay

My wife Barbara and I, and our children, were fortunate to work closely with Dr. Jane Goodall during our 1987-1991 tour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 1989 Goodall called on Secretary of State James Baker in order to enlist him in her new cause of trying to save chimpanzees in the wild. After discussing her many years of groundbreaking chimpanzee research in Gombe, Tanzania, Goodall explained that, in addition to destruction of habitat, a major problem was the bushmeat trade. She noted that ten adult chimps were killed in the wild protecting every infant captured, and only one out of ten infant chimps survived the journey to the marketplace after being taken from their mothers. Secretary Baker offered the Department's assistance to her effort. As the largest chimpanzee population was in the DRC, Kinshasa was her first stop in this new endeavor.

Our economic section took on responsibility for making arrangements for her visits. On her first trip, economic officer Chris Bane and Barbara accompanied Goodall and National Geographic photographer Mike Nichols on a tour of Kinshasa. Barbara mentioned that a chimp was for sale in the central market. Goodall insisted on checking it out and was quite upset at the sight of the chained-up infant. Ambassador Bill Harrop and others in the embassy secured the chimp's release by working through Congolese security service contacts. The baby chimp was then cared for by Graziella Cotman, a Belgian lady, who had worked with chimps at local zoos.

As counselor of embassy for economic affairs, I accompanied (and interpreted for) Goodall on several meetings with local officials when she urged the government to enact stronger legislation banning the sale of chimps, and to enforce existing laws. Sadly, the government lacked the resources and the will to have effective environmental policies. Chris Bane, Barbara and I also accompanied Goodall to meetings with local environmentalists and reporters, and at the local zoo, where chimps lived in poor conditions and exhibited many signs of stress.

Our embassy doctor, Cedric Dumont, and his wife, Ruth, took a keen interest in Goodall and her work. A second chimp was rescued; we and the Dumonts shared care of this chimp, whom we named Chris for Chris Bane. Eventually a third chimp, Calamity Jane, joined Chris. Caring for these infants was a learning experience, but very much like caring for human babies, including diapers and bottles.

Baby Chris was...