Page 17 - IFV_Issue 4_2022

Nature

20th century, was a deadly sin among And there was George Schaller from
scientists. Alaska, with his Year of the Gorilla (1965).
Goodall, while respectful of science and He also used names but only in his book in
its mores, went ahead anyway and gave which he drew attention to the irrefutable
her study group individual names. similarities between human society and
Who can forget her David Greybeard? that of other mammals. Douglas-Hamilton
It was by watching this big male fashion and Schaller drew attention to the fact that
a stick to ‘fish’ for ants down an opening mammals, like humans, display emotion
in a termite heap, that Goodall was able and altruism.
to demolish the long-held belief that But ethology was still male-orientated
humans were the only mammals that and, unsurprisingly, researchers were still
made tools. Chimps were considered to be inclined to concentrate on the role of the
vegetarians until Goodall witnessed them male as the dominant sex.
hunting for meat, including the occasional An anthology published in 1998 -
small antelope and monkeys which they Intimate Nature: the bond between
would corner by team effort. They then women and animals, referred to “Ground-
shared the meat among their associates. breaking field studies by women scientists
And who can forget Flo? Flo, the mother (which have) changed the way the world
chimp who, after two years of seeing an sees animals”.
unresponsive Goodall being around, sat The book’s American editors, Linda
next to her and tentatively reached out her Hogan, Deena Metzger and Brenda
hand to touch her. Peterson, came to the conclusion that we
That was most certainly a cathartic have become increasingly separated from
moment in the history of ethology. animals and from the natural world in
In the Shadow of Man had an general. Their book, intended to be more
enormous impact on the reading public as literary than scientific, said, “For centuries
well as among scientists. now, male priests, doctors and scientists
Men had founded the relatively new have declared . . . creatures have no soul,
science of ethology and indeed several no capacity for pain, or emotion”.
had produced some highly readable But “female scientists were replacing
books. One remembers a best-seller on the hard, objective eye of the past with
wild elephants by Iain Douglas-Hamilton one of a softer sight, replacing a concept of
in 1965. He named all his study animals. anthropomorphism with one of empathy”.
More and more women were now
roughing it in the wilds, the Goodall
way. They wanted to be as close and
unobtrusive as possible to the animals
they were studying. It was inferred that
men, by default rather than intent, paid
too little attention to the fundamental
influences that female animals had on the
social behaviour of their species. This was
despite the fact that most of the higher
mammal societies they were studying
were in fact matriarchal.
Among the fundamental topics that
male researchers tended to overlook
were motherhood, social bonds, and
the vital role of female animals in the
development of the young. Judging by
the volume of books on animal behaviour
since the ‘80s, it is evident that female
Vlad Kutepo, Unsplash
scientists approached the subject with

The Villager • Issue 4 2022 • 15