7The Footprint of Behavior and How to Find It

In the fields of observation, chance favors the prepared mind.

—LOUIS PASTEUR

Observation, Empathy, and Curiosity

In 1960, an adventurous young Englishwoman made her way to Tanzania, driven by a passion for both animals and Africa. On a walk through the rain forest, she came across a large male chimpanzee hunched over a termite nest. Binoculars at the ready, she watched as he took a piece of twig from a nearby bush, stripped the leaves off, and bent it. The chimp then stuck the “spoon” into the nest and used it to both dig the termites out and put them into his mouth. In that one chance encounter, Jane Goodall had made one of the most important scientific observations of modern times—she had witnessed ...

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