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This is a small group from our class pictured with Dr. Goodall at the Roots and Shoots Festival on Saturday,October 20th, 2001.
(back row L-R, Lorraine, Melissa, Tara.H, Jane. Goodall, Tara.C, and Traci. Front L-R, Melissa. M, Jackie, Deb.B, and Brad.B).

our closest living relatives

Welcome to our website! We are students at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, Canada. Currently we are taking a primatology course that is quite unique, and we would like to share what we have learned with you. We hope this will be an eye opener for you . . . thanks to Jane Goodall’s discovery in 1960 while living in Gombe, Tanzania the scientific community was forever changed, as it turned out these highly cognitive beings were capable of not only making, but also using their own tools.

As human beings, we share 98.7 percent of our DNA with chimpanzees: interestingly, chimpanzees are more closely related to us and they are to gorillas. Familial relationships are an integral part of chimpanzee society, much the same way as with humans the first five years of chimpanzees life are perhaps the most important and formative years of its life. The positive relationship between a mother chimpanzee and her offspring is the basis for which the development of social interaction is formed for which it will be a blueprint for them to follow throughout their lives which is crucial for their survival and their place within chimpanzee society.

Threats to chimpanzees are not only in the wild, but also in labs, and the entertainment industry. Chimpanzee mother's are killed right infront of their childs eyes, making it very hard for the young chimpanzee if allowed to be free, to survive. When they are taken from the wild, very few (if any) actually survive: the survival rate in 20:1! Most of these babies are taken so they can be used for our pleasure in movies, music videos, or in the circus. The mother's are then killed for "bushmeat", an incredibly disgusting delicacy in which the chimpanzee is cooked so rich people can have a wonderful meal: the ignorance about this issue is rampant, please help us let others know.

When chimpanzees are taken into the entertainment or pet industry (the ones that make it THAT far) they cannot EVER be released back into the wild, they could not survive! by the time they are about 5 years old they are on average 8 times stronger than an adult human male and can become very unmanageable. Many people have tried to counter this by having their teeth knocked out and removing their nails: I can't even fathom the thought of removing my cat's claws let alone those belonging to a chimp - so closely related to us! They are also highly susceptible to human diseases such as: tuberculosis, herpes, and AIDS just to name a few. In the end, they make very bad pets and in the end are so unmanageable that they are sold into bio-medical research where they are forced to endure a fate you would not wish upon your worst enemy.

Dr. Goodall was very co-operative in making her footprint in cement, you can see it at the Ontario Science Center in Toronto, it is now on permanent display in the lovely garden!!

Saturday, October 20th,

Roots n' Shoots Conference, Science Center, Toronto

Having been aware of Dr.Goodall's work for many years now, of course, I jumped at the chance to see her speak in public for the first time this past October. This was also a perfect way to get to know my new classmates, and professor, Lorain McNeil. If I thought I was excited about this class when I started, was I ever excited about this. We arrived at the Science Center by our allotted 8:30am, not-so-bright-eyed, but ever bushy tailed with anticipation. Most of us had been awake since 5am or earlier, and to me at least, it seemed at the time, a tad surreal.

The buzz was definitely in the air as we entered the building's visitor area, and eagerly set up a table to represent our class. There was a breakfast buffet in the conference room, which we all willingly filled our bellies with! Seas of uniforms from various schools saturated the room, and it was so sweet to see all the younger groups in the room, so revved up with collective enthusiasm.

We had the pleasure of seeing three young men speak, which to me was totally unexpected, and to impress me even further, they were all Canadian. The first speaker many may recognize from his appearance on Oprah not too long ago, and was the youngest of all three. His efforts to raise money to build wells for clean water in Africa, have brought him much notoriety and respect, as he's shown to the world that you're never too young to get involved.

Our second speaker was a young man from B.C, who has headed the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, a group dedicated at educating the public about the plight of Canada's "Sprit" or "Ghost bear", who's numbers in the wild have been depleted from habitat destruction, as a result of logging practices in the region.

The third young man was Craig Keilburger, and by far the most impressive to me. Not to take away from the other two young men, as all were intelligent and inspiring, but he was quite the motivational speaker. His organization "Kids Can: Free the Children" is devoted to aid children all around the world. The organization has also come all long way in only 6yrs, with over 100,000 members, with outreach projects spanning over 35 countries. They are dedicated to helping children suffering from the effects of poverty, as well as encouraging other youth to get involved.

As the Craig's speech came to a close, time finally came for Dr. Goodall to enter the room, and to my surprise she walked right by us. Now, what was I expecting, for her to arrive through the back door? Thankfully of course, she arrived with her small entourage, mingling with the students as a local musician sang a song he composed for her. Before she began speaking the staff at the Science Center had prepared a concrete mold to preserve her footprint (which you can see here on the site), which would be placed in a garden they had constructed in her honor. It was quite cute, as she apologized about the state of her toenails! Apparently they had seized her toenail clippers at customs, and she eluded sarcastically, something to the affect of not being much of a likely candidate for terrorism, "but it's a clean foot" she promised. The whole thing was hilarious, as all the school children rushed to see her foot submerged in the cement mold and photographers flashed their cameras wildly.

She spoke of young people having the power to empower themselves and others; to lead other young men and women to act, and also, shared her own inspiring stories of human selflessness. This is what Roots n' Shoots is all about. There was a plaque presented to each of the groups being represented at the conference, for which Traci from our group (seen in the pic provided on the site as well) volunteered to accept - as she was the only on who had the guts at the time! Feeling rather in awe of the whole experience, I followed the class out of the conference room back to our table, where we waited for a chance to meet with Dr. Goodall herself. And after finding out recently, of how many days this poor woman is on the road (approximately 300 days out of the year spent traveling), I hardly thought she'd be in the mood for hanging out at the conference. But nonetheless, hang out she did! She thoughtfully surveyed all the groups' tables, and stopped to talk to us, as well as pose for few pictures and taking her time to learn about each group's activities. All in all, it was the experience I knew I wanted to have: positive, inspiring and life changing. It made me realize something incredibly important: just we are never to young to get involved - it also never too late. Hope you all enjoy and learn from our site!

here are a couple of us wearing really cool -->
T-shirts that you can buy from www.janegoodall.ca
see our links to find out more!!

There are many things you can do to help chimpanzees,
1) you can adopt a chimpanzee at many ape sanctuaries such as Chimfunshi, it makes a wonderful gift for the person in your life that has everything and it helps the sancturaries (which are non-profit BTW) with the membership you will receive a colour photograph and personal file of the chimpanzee, a progress report, a wallet photo-card of the chimp, and a newsletter.

2) you can write letters to your government to stop funding to logging companies that clearcut, especially in places that are indigenous to primates (it makes them more vulnerable to hunters!!) Also you can write to record labels whose bands have featured primates in their videos, and even the bands themselves (Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal), they often are not even aware of the conditions that these sentient beings are subjected to!

3) you can make the ethically sound decision to boycott any movies which feature chimpanzees (such as Dr. Doolittle) and choose not to buy products which feature chimpanzees in their advertising campaigns!