A few weeks ago we learned of the passing of pioneering primatologist Dame Jane Goodall.
It was additionally sad because Jane was to be the keynote speaker at this year’s IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, which as I said in my previous post, I covered alongside a team of photographers from the UK. Jane would have been addressing hundreds of climate leaders from around the world, but passed away just a few days before the event.
It would have been a huge honour to have been there to photograph her, but at the grand age of 91, we can be thankful she had such a long and impactful life.
On a more personal note, I shall now always share my birthday with the anniversary of her death.
But on the subject of tenuous connections between myself and Dame Jane, here’s another for you; I once had what I call a “Jane Goodall moment”.
In 2004 (April 21st to be precise) I was engaged to take photos at Howletts Wild Animal Park for their marketing. At one point during the day I was asked to go to the medical unit where a female gorilla was undergoing a hysterectomy. She’d had a baby, but she had a condition which meant that another pregnancy could kill her. I was asked to do a few photos to document her aftercare, but I was probably in there for no more than five or ten minutes.
After I came back outside I saw that the father of the baby, a large silverback, was in a nearby enclosure so he could be close to where the mother was having her operation. We looked at each other and he came over to the wire fence, turned side-on to me and with a definite look of pride, indicated for me to see what was clinging to his back; his young son.
Between us were two layers of fence and one language barrier, but I could tell he wanted me to look. I spoke softly in appreciation and at the same time, had to think quickly.
One of my tasks that day was to find a cover image for the Howletts souvenir booklet, and here was the perfect moment. I managed to find an angle to make a portrait of his baby. You can just see a strip of green haze down the right-hand side of the frame where I couldn’t quite avoid the wire.
It was a magical moment and one not many people will have experienced except primatologists such as Dame Jane Goodall, and she wouldn’t have been fenced off from the experience. To be fair, I hadn’t spent years building up the trust of this gorilla, proud dad or not, so that fence was a welcome safety feature.
The photo did indeed make the book cover and of course I was pleased with that, but the longer-lasting memory for me was that moment of connection between myself, a proud dad and his baby.
A fleeting moment of course, and incomparable to the deep connections and impact Jane Goodall had throughout her career, but I like to think of it as my Jane Goodall Moment.
I very much hope her work will continue to influence our approach to, and understanding of, the impact of humans on the natural world. We still have a long way to go just implement what we already know.
