Still Chimping from Chicago

I have successfully completed my first field season and have now returned to Chicago. If nothing else, I met my minimum goal of surviving the forest. Believe it or not, the chimpanzees, baboons and other animals were the least of my worries in the forest. What gave me the most problems were the machaka (dense undergrowth and thorns) and steep hills.

Fadhila (a 2-year-old). I can’t wait to see how much the chimpanzees will have grown and developed when I return in six months!

Overall, the past six months proved to be incredibly successful, and I was able to collect hundreds of hours of behavioral observations and fecal samples. Now that I have returned to Chicago, I look forward to spending these next six months entering behavioral data and analyzing hormone samples to better understand why chimpanzees spend so much time playing around.

Since I have been back, I have been asked numerous times what my favorite part of the trip was. Considering that I spent the past six months living a dream, studying chimpanzees in their natural environment at the same field site where Jane Goodall conducted her research, this is not an easy question.

While I don’t necessarily have one particular favorite moment, I can say that my favorite times were when I was able to act like a “tourist.” Those were the times when my watch wasn’t beeping every minute to record behavioral observations—times when I was able to sit back, watch the chimpanzees and take it all in.

During those times I was able to ignore all the dirt and sweat to truly appreciate this amazing life experience and learning opportunity. I have had a great time writing these blog entries and have done my best to educate, entertain and inspire. I look forward to contributing more entries when I return to Gombe in May 2010.

Matt Heintz