Cape Town - You probably know that people, chimpanzees and bonobos – previously called pygmy chimpanzees – are closely related, because we are all descended from a single common ancestor species that lived six or seven million years ago.
You may also know humans and chimpanzees are so closely related that we share 98.9 percent of our DNA. But given this amazing closeness, why are we also so different – in appearance, behaviour and cognition?
This is your chance to learn from the one person on the planet who is probably best qualified to answer such questions: renowned British primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist Dr Jane Goodall.
Goodall, who is also a UN Messenger of Peace, will deliver the first Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture of 2014, hosted by UCT, at the Baxter Theatre on Thursday.
Her talk is titled “The Life and Times of Dr Jane Goodall – in celebration of her 80th year”. Admission is free, but only with a ticket that must be collected in person on Tuesday. The event will also be streamed live.
Goodall’s extensive research into the behaviour of chimpanzees started in Tanzania in the 1960s, and has fundamentally altered scientific thinking about the relationship between humans and other mammals. She is still working in her 80th year.
Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in 1977 which continues her research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. In South Africa, the JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden is home to chimpanzees that have been misplaced from their natural habitats in central Africa.
Her many honours include the French Legion of Honour, the Medal of Tanzania, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize and Dame of the British Empire.
UCT established the Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture series to give everyone the benefit of listening first-hand to distinguished academics, researchers and innovators. One of the previous lecturers was Sir David Attenborough.
l Tickets – a maximum of two per person – can be collected from the Baxter Theatre Computicket office between 9am and 5pm on Tuesday. Follow live streaming at www.uct.ac.za. - Cape Argus