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Baron Hugo van Lawick

Jane Goodall tends a campfire at Gombe Stream, 1962. Her writing for National Geographic magazine that year would be an instantly iconic account of a new frontier in immersive ethology.

Balky outboard plagues the author on 420-mile-long Lake Tanganyika, her only route back to civilization. Storms sometimes send boats scurrying for shore.

Pressure lamp glowing as lure, Africans off the shore of the reserve harvest sardine-sized dagaa that they will sun-dry for market. Although the men may camp along the beach of the reserve, game law forbids their going more than 60 yards inland. Lake Tanganyika is one of the world's deepest. At one point its bottom plunges 4,708 feet, more than 2,000 feet below sea level.

Disturbing sight—the crouching author—sends a big male scurrying. When startled, chimpanzees clamber from trees and race off across the ground. A more courageous ape, investigating Miss Goodall, struck her.

With humanlike concentration, a chimpanzee carefully feeds a length of vine into an opening it has made. The chimpanzee's short thumb prevents his bringing it and forefinger together in the precision grip so useful to man. As a substitute, this ape clamps the stem between his thumb and side of the index finger.

Foil-wrapped baubles adorn a tropical Christmas tree. Balloons festoon the tent; baboon skull, found and studied by the author, tops the pole. Goliath, who nested the night before almost overhead, chooses a banana but disdains oranges. Palm-nut trees beyond the tent provides a chimpanzee staple.

Lower lip stuffed, David Greybeard interrupts his dinner in camp to listen to the call of chimpanzees nearby. He sits in a relaxed position, forearm on knee, elongated hand dangling. Tough, thickened skin on the knuckles attests the four-legged gain preferred by the apes. Divergent big toe, useful for gripping, helps him climb trees. White whiskers are no indicator of age; they often sprout on youngsters.

Sick call at camp finds the author's mother, Mrs. Vanne Morris-Goodall, dispensing aspirin.

David Greybeard, a wild chimpanzee, gets a handout of bananas from author Goodall, who studies the apes under a National Geographic Society grant. This scene near her camp represents a triumph for Miss Goodall; at first the animals fled if she came within 500 yards. Her knapsack holds a camera and notebook. She carries a whistle in her pocket to summon searchers in case of accident in the rugged Tanganyika hills.

Confirmed banana raider makes a getaway, unmolested by lunching Africans. Enjoying the run of camp, chimpanzees carry away blankets and clothing as well. David Greybeard, boldest and friendliest of the apes that visit the author, often enters tents, peers under beds, pulls out clothing, and pokes through boxes to find hidden fruit.