Jane Goodall's Return to Gombe

When you view chimpanzees through the eyes of world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, their similarities to humans seem nothing less than astonishing (chimpanzee DNA is actually 99% identical to our own). This remarkable Animal Planet-aired documentary makes it perfectly clear that no other person in the history of humankind has achieved such a uniquely intimate and sympathetic relationship with chimpanzees as Goodall has in the course of her 30-year research. Here, at the age of 70, she returns to the research station in Tanzania's Gombe National Park (where her work began in 1960) to reunite with many of the chimps she studied so closely over the years. Goodall's return coincides with a change in leadership among the chimps, and the ensuing power struggle results in the overthrow of Frodo, the aging leader who subsequently goes into self-exile, prompting Goodall to seek him out despite the fact that “he was never one of my favorites.” Along the way, Goodall—a devoted activist who travels 300 days a year to promote awareness of environmental threats—reminisces about her research and the current endangered state of chimpanzees in a fascinating program that combines an important ecological message with great footage of the chimps in their dwindling natural habitat. DVD extras include a bonus featurette with Goodall. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Shannon)