advocacy – Chasing Tales

There is, of course, no such day at the moment. I’m advocating for one.

Thank you Dr. Goodall. Your legacy shall prosper. 📷 @Goodallinst on Instagram.

Jane pioneered a revolutionary idea: that empathy and scientific objectivity could coexist. Her methods became the foundation of modern primatology and ethology, demonstrating that scientific rigor and empathetic understanding were not opposites but complementary approaches.¹

She was just 26 when she walked into a forest in Gombe (Tanzania) with her notebook and a set of binoculars, and no college education, since “we were by no means a wealthy family, so university wasn’t an option.”²

So she waitressed and saved every penny to get to Africa, where she wanted to work with the animals she loved.² It was this dedication and unrestricted thinking that soon earned her a chance to study chimpanzees in Tanzania, and even a PhD position at Cambridge without any previous college degrees³.

Her discoveries shattered our assumptions about what makes us human. She proved that chimpanzees used tools, shared food, and even waged war against rival groups- behaviors we thought belonged only to us. In showing us these profound similarities, Jane forever changed how we see our place in the natural world.⁴ ⁵

Her groundbreaking discoveries, tireless advocacy, and unwavering belief in the power of hope and compassion inspired millions of people around the world to care about animals, conservation, and making the planet a better place.⁶ ⁷ She lived a life that reminded us that hope is not naive but necessary, and that each of us has the power to create positive change. She showed us that compassion is not sentimentality but a powerful tool for understanding.

Jane changed humanity and our relationship with all those we share our home planet with by dint of her labour and her untramelled heart.⁸ And so, I am advocating for April 3rd, her birthday, to be the International Jane Goodall Day of Compassion.

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