Chimpanzee Fascination

My fascination with primates was awakened back in the early 70’s when I was studying and trapping squirrel monkeys in the Amazon Basin between undergraduate and Grad school. As a Grad student, I went on to work within the Calif Primate Center UC Davis where I spent quite a bit of time in the cancer research depart focusing on monkeys and their lymphoma outbreak. I developed a genuine respect for their intelligence, social complexity, athletic prowess and their natural beauty, but through those experiences, I somehow never felt personally connected to them.

My perception changed drastically on a recent trip to the remote Yerkes National Primate Research Center located in the jungles along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania, a short distance from Jane Goodall’s famous research Center in Gombe. Hiking hours well into the cloud forest, up on the mountain steps, I had my first personal encounter with the magnificent Chimpanzee. That experience, of looking into the eyes of a massive alpha male at a range of some 20 feet, was one I will never forget. Quietly photographing as they played, groomed each other and their infants, and sat pondering their hands in a distinctly human-like manner, I was struck by the intelligence and serenity of these creatures. Observing them in their own wild environment touched my heart in a profound way.

It was in that dark steaming forest I sought to capture, with my camera, images portraying the magical feeling of kinship I had developed with my primate brethren. This unique experience cemented my desire to assist in the conservation of these truly splendid creatures.

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