Goodall Honoured for Research on Chimps. (14 November, 1996)

Jane Goodall says she cried when told she would receive the highest honour from Tanzania, where she began ground-breaking research on chimpanzees 36 years ago. 'It marks, for me, my commitment to do whatever I can for my adopted country for the rest of my life,' she said on Tuesday as she accepted the Medal of Mount Kilimanjaro from ambassador Mustafa Nyang'anyi. She was surrounded by close friends and colleagues, yet she felt there was something missing.

'Tanzanian chimps are among the most famous of your citizens,' she told the ambassador. 'I just wish that they could somehow be represented in this room.' Ms Goodall's work in Tanzania, begun in 1960, is credited with showing the world that chimpanzees are both complex and civilised, and that human beings are more like them than originally thought. She continues work there now through the Jane Goodall Institute.

The medal was one of three awarded by former Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who left office in 1995. Upon retirement, presidents may honour non-Tanzanians who have had a significant impact on the country. 'It's like the culmination, really, of spending so many years in Tanzania and developing an enormous love for the country and the people, ' Ms Goodall said in an interview. On a national speaking tour, Ms Goodall told an audience that she hope HBO television commercials featuring her chimps watching TV movies would help the species, although she was initially 'horrified' at the prospect. 'I realised this would be a way to make a statement and that this is how animal advertising should go in the future' she said at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. 'It's working to everyone's good.' Sapa-AP. Courtesy of the Pretoria News.