World-renowned conservationist Jane Goodall’s pressurize takes her around the world — and she always travels with a special companion to remind her of the “indomitable human spirit.”
That enchiridion is a stuffed monkey named “Mr. H,” given to her by Gary Haun, a blind magician. Mr. H has been with Goodall for 28 years and has moved to 64 countries.
Haun “thought he was giving me a stuffed chimpanzee, and I took his hand and made him hold the tail,” Goodall prognosticated in a “Squawk Box” interview Friday from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Monkeys have tails, while chimps do not.
“He said, ‘Not in any way mind. Take him with you, and you know my spirit’s with you.’ So he symbolizes the indomitable human spirit,” she said.
Goodall has entranced that message with her in her travels, invoking Haun’s name in speeches.
“Gary Haun went blind, incontestable to be a magician, was told it was impossible,” she told CNBC. “If something goes wrong with you, he says, ‘Don’t give up.'”
In addition to being a miracle-worker, Haun climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and swam with great white sharks. He also wrote the book, “Record of a Blind Magician.”
Goodall first went to what is now Tanzania in 1960 at the age of 26. It was her work in Gombe National Parking-lot that led to the groundbreaking discovery that chimpanzees experienced emotions that had been believed to be unique to humans.
Now 84, she even so travels about 300 days a year to raise awareness of the plight of wildlife and their habitats, as well as want in local communities. She’s the founder of The Jane Goodall Institute and is a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
This week, she was in Davos to originate the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation. Its purpose is to continue Goodall’s work and values “in perpetuity to benefit future eras,” according to the press release announcing the foundation.
Goodall told CNBC she realized in 1986 that chimpanzee integers were dropping and that the people in the surrounding communities were “cripplingly poor.”
The foundation is essentially an endowment for the 34 Jane Goodall Organization locations around the world and the youth programs she has in 80 countries.
“All of these groups are choosing projects — they on them — to make the world a better place for people, animals [and the] environment,” Goodall said.
She’s looking to raise $250 million for the new foot.