When British ethologist Jane Goodall was 10 years old, she read a second-hand edition of “Tarzan of the Apes.” Growing up in London, England, far from wildlife, she dreamed of the jungle.   

“I will grow up, go to Africa, live with wild animals and write books about them,” Goodall said in a lecture at the Long Center this week. 

In 1960, when she was 26 years old, Goodall arrived in Gombe, Tanzania, and conducted her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees, according to the Center’s website. On Tuesday evening, Goodall spoke to over 2,100 people at the Long Center about her life’s work, including founding the Jane Goodall Institute, an environmental conservation group. 

Goodall said she was most surprised by how much chimpanzees are like humans, both biologically and behaviorally. She said she saw similarities in “gestures of communication:” greeting, kissing, embracing, holding hands or begging for food with a hand outstretched. 

“After about a year, I found that, like us, they have a dark and brutal side,” Goodall said. “Just as they and we have a dark side, so they too have a compassionate, loving and altruistic side, just as we do.” 

Goodall said she thought she could have stayed in Gombe forever studying the forest ecosystem, but in 1986, a 4-day conference at the Chicago Academy of Science changed everything for her. Goodall learned that across Africa, the chimpanzee population was dropping, and habitats were being destroyed.

“I went to the conference as a scientist, (and) I left as an activist,” Goodall said. “I knew I had to try and do something.” 

Now, Goodall said, people are going through dark times, with destruction of the environment, the loss of biodiversity and climate change. In Texas and globally, Goodall said there are weather pattern changes and drastic weather events like hurricanes, flooding and heat waves. But she said she still has reasons for hope. 

“It’s the young people,” Goodall said. “Once they understand the problems, they’re empowered to take action. There’s no stopping them.” 

Even in the 1960s, Goodall said she was already finding young people in high school and university who were worried about their communities. In 1991, the Jane Goodall Institute began its Roots & Shoots humanitarian and environmental program for young people around the world, according to the program’s website.

Goodall said people laughed when she was young, asking her, “Why don’t you dream about something you can achieve?” Instead, Goodall listened to her mother, who told her if she didn’t give up, she would hopefully find her way.

“There are people who tackle what seems impossible and won’t give up,” Goodall said. “We know how to change the world. If we all let this indomitable spirit guide us into making even small changes each day, it will make a huge difference.”