Jane Goodall�s observations of tool-using chimpanzees in Tanzania�s Gombe Stream National Park demonstrated our connection to our planet and changed the very definition of what it means to be human.

Today, the world-renowned conservationist travels more than 300 days a year, spreading her message of peaceful co-existence with nature and one another. She is proof that travel�and travellers�can change the world.

This past Monday, Dr Goodall released her latest book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom & Wonder From the World of Plants, giving readers an uncommon glimpse into the botanical life of our world. And today, she celebrates her 80th birthday.

�All this hype about being 80 is absurd,� she told The Gazette�s Michelle Lalonde from the gym of Montreal�s Loyola high school earlier this week. �The older I get, the less time there is, so whatever time I have is getting shorter. And there is just so much to do.�

Goodall maintains a busy schedule. When she isn�t travelling the globe for speaking engagements, she�s raising awareness for the many causes supported by the non-profit organization that bears her name. That means she hasn�t had a vacation since 1986, when she traded her role as a researcher for full-time travel in an effort to call attention to the problems humans have inflicted on our planet.

This globetrotting expert on our primate ancestors shows no sign of slowing down, and today communicates an even greater sense of urgency in her lectures on environmentalism, wildlife protection, and our need for change.

�The world is a mess, there�s no question about it,� she says, �but my biggest reason for hope in the future is the imagination we possess to find solutions to the problems we�ve created.�

TRAVEL CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

When asked if travel can play a significant role in preserving our planet, Dr Goodall underlines the importance tourism plays in achieving conservation goals. With more and more people choosing styles of travel that bring them closer to wildlife in remote destinations, we know that, increasingly, travellers are interested in seeing the natural world, and therefore, in protecting it.

When natural environments are valued, people at all levels are more invested in protecting them�and conservation efforts are more likely to be met with support. At the same time, tourism empowers local communities by creating new economies and income-generating activities. In this way, tourism offers the best of both worlds�it creates jobs for local people in struggling communities while mitigating damage to the natural environment.

THE JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE

Today, the Jane Goodall Institute supports a range of global projects including community-based conservation initiatives, chimpanzee sanctuaries, primatology research, a youth empowerment program called Roots & Shoots, and micro-credit programs to support sustainable businesses founded by women.

Goodall speaks passionately about the urgent need to have a positive impact, regardless of its scope or scale. �Many, especially young people, feel hopeless and helpless because they have lost all hope for the future,� she says.

Goodall may be turning 80, but through her non-stop tours, she serves as a powerful reminder that, regardless of age, travel�and travellers�can make a difference.

�It�s simply not true that we can�t do anything about [the state of the world]. If you care about the future, then discover your passion, get off your stump, and make the world a better place.�

Learn about programs and volunteer opportunities at the Jane Goodall Institute.

Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute continues Dr. Goodall's pioneering research into chimpanzee behavior -- research which transformed scientific perceptions of the relationship between humans and animals. Today, the Institute is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. It also is widely recognized for establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and the Roots & Shoots education program, which has groups in more than 87 countries. JGI's newest programs in Africa are linked not only geographically through the Congo Basin watershed, but also thematically by addressing the root social and economic factors that shape human relationships with the environment.

We are very sad to report the disappearance of 46-year-old Fifi &endash; known to many around the world as a central figure in the wild chimpanzee community studied by Dr. Jane Goodall. Fifi's two-year-old daughter, Furaha, also is missing.

Researchers at the Jane Goodall Institute's Gombe Stream Research Centre in Tanzania have not seen Fifi or Furaha since late August. Initially, Fifi's absence seemed unremarkable, said Michael Wilson, co-director of research at the Centre. She had shifted her range to remote northern valleys at Gombe, and so was spotted infrequently. But worries mounted in mid-September when a graduate student saw a large group of mothers from the north traveling without Fifi. Then, on 17 September, researchers saw Fifi's 6-year-old daughter Flirt traveling without her mother &endash; surprising behavior for such a young female. The field staff and park rangers searched intensively for Fifi throughout October but could find no sign of her. "We don't know whether Fifi is still alive, or what happened to her if she is no longer living. As of yesterday, Flirt was still traveling without her mother," said Wilson on Nov. 12.

"It is deeply disturbing that Fifi has been missing for so long, and mortifying to think that she may be gone forever," he said. "We are still hopeful that Fifi may be alive, hidden in a remote northern valley, but as time continues to pass without any sign of her, the chances of her survival seem slim."

When last seen, Fifi appeared to be in good health. Also, it seems clear that the fires which swept through Gombe National Park in August were not a factor in her disappearance; researchers spotted her late in the month, after the fires were quelled.

Fifi is the last chimpanzee from Dr. Goodall's early days as a researcher. Jane watched her grow from a lively and curious 2-year-old to a high-ranking female and one of Gombe's most successful mothers. And the world watched too, thanks to Jane's books, National Geographic magazine and the many television films about Gombe. It is not uncommon for people attending Jane's lectures just about anywhere in the world to ask for an update on Fifi.

As a member of the "F" family, which included Fifi's famous mother Flo and notoriously aggressive son Frodo, Fifi was a central player in Gombe's chimpanzee group. She contributed greatly to Gombe research on mothering, sexuality, tool use and so much more. Her death would be a profound loss for researchers at the Centre and most especially for Dr. Goodall.

Fifi was a highly curious and fearless youngster, thriving under Flo's skillful mothering. Some of this spirit was captured in photographs by the late Hugo van Lawick, Jane's first husband and a wildlife photographer and filmmaker. In one image, a young Fifi is peering up under Jane's safari shirt hoping to find bananas. In another, Fifi peers intently up into Hugo's camera lens, head cocked, studying her own reflection.

Fifi learned invaluable lessons about male behavior from her older brothers, Faben and Figan. While most young females can be intimidated and even terrified of males during courtship, Fifi had observed the aggressive posturing and displays of her brothers, so she was better prepared than many young females for the rigors of the mating ritual.

Flo was very playful with her offspring and Fifi watched her mother carefully and imitated her behavior. Jane observed Fifi dangling her infant with one foot while tickling him&endash; a unique play maneuver she had only seen previously in Flo.

Fifi was reproductively successful, giving birth to her ninth offspring at the age of 44. Most females don't raise more than two or three offspring to reproductive maturity, but at the time of her presumed death, Fifi had five adult offspring, Freud, Fanni, Frodo and Flossi. Freud and Frodo both achieved alpha status. Fifi's brother, Figan, was the most powerful adult male in Gombe's (documented) history. He held his position for ten years with the support of his brother, Faben. Fifi had at least 10 grandchildren, and Fifi's descendants together constitute more than one-quarter of the main study community.

Her life was not without difficulty. In 1997, she became ill during an epidemic of sarcoptic mange. She lost all of her hair, and sadly her son Fred became sick and died. As soon as Fifi recovered and started growing her hair back, she came into estrus and immediately conceived. Daughter Flirt was born in July 1998.

Although Jane stopped active field research in 1986 to focus on conservation, there has remained a mysterious connection between Jane and Fifi. Year after year, when Jane returned to Gombe and entered the forest she knows so well, Fifi would appear, as if on cue &endash; to the great delight of any accompanying film crew. Often Fifi would sit near Jane as she did so many times over the last 45 years. Like old friends enjoying an overdue reunion, she and Jane would sit still for a long time, and seem to commune in silence.

You can find a more detailed version of this release and photos of Fifi, including one of Jane and Fifi, through our online press kit, www.janegoodall.org.