News
Still Chimping from Chicago ›
I have successfully completed my first field season and have now returned to Chicago. If nothing else, I met my minimum goal of surviving the forest. Believe it or not, the chimpanzees, baboons
Read More ›Mshangao Sokwe (Chimpanzee Surprises) ›
A tourist recently asked me the following question: “After more than five months of observing chimpanzees, do they still surprise you?”
(I know this is a cheesy way to begin an entry, but
Read More ›Mwezi Moja Zaidi (One More Month) ›
I am now on the final month of my first field season, so all of the “lasts” are beginning to occur. I just went to town for my last round of errands, one of which was to pick up two care packages
Read More ›Kukuta Chakula (To Find Food) ›
Right now the end of the dry season is in sight. In Gombe, the dry season lasts from June–November, and the wet season is December–May. While different fruits are continuously coming into season
Read More ›Naitwa Matthew (I am called Matthew) ›
I am doing my best to completely immerse myself in Tanzanian culture. Whenever I am in camp or town I first attempt to speak Swahili to any Tanzanian (regardless of whether the other person speaks
Read More ›Kuwa na Mzazi Mzuri (To Be a Good Parent) ›
As I watch mother and infant chimpanzees all day long, I think about how Jane Goodall wrote about learning to be a mother by watching mother chimpanzees in her book “Through a Window.” One of her
Read More ›A Few Tips for a Successful Chimpercise ›
A guide to the hot new exercise program developed by field researchers at Gombe National Park.