We at KidNews are monkey maniacs, so we were delighted to see that wildlife biologist Jane Goodall and the chimpanzees she studies in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park are the stars of a new kid-friendly interactive Web site.
At www.discoverchimpanzees.org, you can meet Fifi, Frodo and the other 13 Goodall chimps, watch a film of the monkeys at play in the Gombe and track research that uses high-tech tools such as satellites and global-positioning devices. There also are lots of fun activities and games, like one in which you match faces to the monkeys, and a cool tour of the Gombe.
The chimp biographies are fascinating, with details such as this about Beethoven, a serious little monkey who didn’t play much as a youngster and took a long time to grow to adult size: After reaching adulthood, Beethoven, 33, “adopted” a young female chimp named Dilly whose mother had disappeared.
For years, Beethoven and Dilly groomed each other, traveled together and nested near each other at night. Researchers were puzzled at this unusual relationship. Then, through DNA analysis, they learned that Beethoven probably is Dilly’s father, leading them to believe that male chimps likely can sense who their children are.
