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Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tutaonana Tena (Until We See Each Other Again)
Well, we have wrapped up our work in the park and are getting ready to make the long journey home. The visit was quite successful—I managed to meet with all the relevant staff I had planned to, and the project continues to run smoothly with the help of our in-country partners.
On our last day out in the forest, we went out looking for chimpanzees and passed a rather famous spot known as “Jane’s Peak.”
PermalinkTuesday, May 31, 2011
Tutapanda Juu (We Will Climb Up)
Today’s goal was to go into the field with our data-collection team that focuses on mother-infant interactions. This is a project that Jane Goodall started in the 1970s to better understand how chimpanzee behavioral and social development compares to human infant development. Data collection continues to this day and we are in the process of entering this massive dataset at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Mvua, Mvua—Toka! (Rain, Rain, Go Away.)
We woke up at about 5 a.m. this morning to loud and long sounds of thunder...not what you want to hear when you’re looking forward to following chimpanzees. The rain was coming....
Friday, May 20, 2011
After four days, four different planes, and three nights in three different accommodations, we have finally arrived at Gombe.
One of the parts I love most about my job as director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes is overseeing our field projects. We started the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project in 2004 to assess, understand and attempt to mitigate the risks of infectious disease in wild chimpanzees. I’m here for my annual trip to meet with staff and collaborators, bring supplies, gather the past year’s data and assess the current health of the chimpanzees.
It’s always wonderful to return to Gombe and see the staff and chimpanzees that I’ve known for 13 years now. Accompanying me on this trip is my colleague Dr. Kristin Bonnie of Beloit College, who collaborates with us in our studies of ape social learning at the zoo. Kristin has studied chimpanzees for the past 10 years but has never seen them in the wild!
We’ve just gotten ourselves settled this evening in our fourth and final accommodation of the trip and look forward to getting out into the forest to see chimpanzees tomorrow.
Elizabeth Lonsdorf
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Primates Wambea Wengine (Other Curious Primates)
The title applies to both the chimpanzees and myself. Chimpanzees are very curious creatures, as am I. When I’m in the forest, I enjoy the breaks from the daily routine provided by any forest anomalies that pop up. I recently discovered how the chimps are the same way.
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Gombe Field Diaries
Lincoln Park Zoo is partnering with the Jane Goodall Institute to study and conserve chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, the site of Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking research. Our Gombe field diaries feature updates as scientists monitor chimpanzee health, study ape behavior and experience life in Gombe.
Staff Bios
Elizabeth Lonsdorf
As director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lonsdorf leads Lincoln Park Zoo efforts in Gombe National Park.
Rachel Santymire, Ph.D.
An endocrinologist in the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Santymire studies stress and reproduction in Gombe's chipmanzees.
Matt Heintz
A graduate student in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago, Matt is studying how levels of play in Gombe¹s chimpanzees influence stress, development and reproductive success.
Lincoln Park Zoo Conservation & Science
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