Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, found admiration for Nebraska Sandhills

Jane Goodall spent her life studying the behavior of primates – their relationships, their behaviors, their emotions. But they weren’t the only animals that she admired. For more than 20 years, the great Sandhill Crane migration drew the legendary primatologist to the center of Nebraska.

Author and photographer Alan Bartels told Nebraska Public Media’s Jackie Ourada about his friendship with Jane Goodall that began after a visit she made here.

Alan Bartels: I got a call from one of Jane's people, and they said, "Jane's coming back to Nebraska this spring, and she'd like to spend some time with you." And you know, my jaw about hit the floor. Jane and I got together and we watched cranes and had fun. And that happened many, many springs. I would get to hang out with Jane, and a lot of times it was at Tom Mangelsen's cabin. Early one spring morning, everybody else was asleep except for Jane and me, and so for about an hour, half hour or so, Jane and I sat next to each other on the couch, and we watched the sun come up through the big picture window. We watched the cranes take off and come and go. Jane went in the kitchen and made me a cup of tea and some toast. And we didn't talk about Africa or chimpanzees or even conservation, really. You know, she talked about her grandkids, just like any grandmother her age would. One thing about Jane is she always had a very sincere interest in my writing and photography, but even more so in my health. She would always make sure to ask me if I was taking care of myself and how I was doing. What a dream come true to form a 20-year friendship with somebody that I looked up to when I was five years old, when I would see her in the magazines or on TV. Just an unbelievable blessing.

Jackie Ourada: It's incredible that this world renowned wildlife expert who's been all over the world, seen all of the things, took such interest in our home in Nebraska.

Bartels: Jane fell in love with Nebraska. And you know, she traveled 300 days a year. She's from England originally. One year in particular, she spent two weeks in her native England. She spent about two weeks in Africa, which she loved Africa more than anywhere. But that same year, Jane spent nine days in Nebraska, which really reinforced to me how important our wild places and wild things are here in Nebraska, that she would spend that much time out of her year in Nebraska.

Ourada: Goodall was known for fostering real, genuine relationships with chimpanzees. I'm wondering, since you knew her personally, what about her personality or demeanor that you might have seen — how did that work so well with animals?

Bartels: Yeah, I think her ability to get close to animals was definitely her personality. She was very demure out there, trying to blend into the background, when she was first trying to work with the chimps. she had a love of animals her whole life. And you know, like many of us, it started with common household pets like dogs, and her love of dogs was with her until the day she died. And you know that reminds me, in 2012 I took Jane and our friend Tom Mangelsen up into the Sandhills in Loop County to watch greater prairie chickens, and we went to Switzer ranch, and we spent the night outside, talking, standing outside under the stars in the sand hills, picking at a pineapple upside down cake and drinking scotch right out of the bottle, just talking about family and friends and wildlife and things like that. The next morning, we went out to watch the prairie chickens do their spring mating rituals. It's often referred to as a dance. And you know, here is this woman who saw the great migrations of the world, the great wildlife migrations, but she was giddy, like an excited little girl, watching those little prairie chickens face off and do their mock fights and their mating displays. And she absolutely fell in love with the Sandhills and with the Switzer family themselves.

Ourada: I can tell Jane Goodall has left such an impact on your life, as she did with many people. What about her life's work will stick with you? Or what about her work has given you inspiration?

Bartels: Well, when I was young, I was always into animals, but I didn't always live in a place where I could see wildlife. Really just amazed me to look on the TV and see this very small woman from England in the company of these huge chimpanzees that, if they had decided to, could definitely have hurt her. And I just saw this confidence in her, but also this love and in her eyes, love of what she was doing, love for those animals and just such an. Inspiration. There will never be anyone like Jane Goodall, and the world definitely will not be the same without her, but I know that her work and her life is going to serve as inspiration to generations, and we can all honor Jane's life by treating this planet with the respect that it deserves.

Two photographs that Bartels took of a protected species of wildflower in Nebraska were featured in Goodall’s “Seeds of Hope” book, and in turn, Goodall wrote the forward to Bartels’ first children’s book, “What’s Going Down in Prairie Town.” Goodall passed away this week at the age of 91.