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Drs H Dieter Steklis and Netzin Steklis Cover

Mountain Gorilla Conservation: The Untold Stories with Dr. Horst Dieter Steklis and Dr. Netzin G. Steklis

Decades ago, mountain gorillas appeared headed toward extinction. Their remarkable recovery shows what sustained conservation can achieve—and why the people who made it possible deserve to be remembered.

Mountain gorillas have long captured the human imagination. Yet the popular image of these powerful primates—whether as frightening “King Kong” figures or placid “gentle giants”—misses something fundamental.

Dr. H. Dieter Steklis and Dr. Netzin Steklis have spent decades studying gorilla behavior, conservation, and human-animal relationships. In their Earth Talk, they offered a more nuanced picture: gorillas are deeply social animals whose lives revolve around relationships.

But the Steklises also asked their audience to look beyond the gorillas themselves. Behind one of conservation’s most encouraging success stories stand generations of Rwandan trackers, researchers, rangers, and other local people whose knowledge and dedication helped keep these animals alive.

Gorillas Are Defined by Their Relationships

Dian Fossey’s pioneering observations beginning in the 1960s helped transform public understanding of mountain gorillas. By identifying individual animals—including by their distinctive “nose prints”—and documenting their lives over time, she revealed complex personalities, family relationships, and social bonds.

The Steklises’ own research extended that picture, especially through their study of silverbacks. A mature male can be massive and formidable, fiercely defending his family when threatened. Yet the same animal may patiently wrestle and play with youngsters while carefully controlling his extraordinary strength.

Key Takeaways

  • Mountain gorilla recovery shows that sustained, long-term conservation can reverse a severe population decline.
  • Gorilla families are shaped by powerful social bonds, including remarkably gentle relationships between silverbacks and youngsters.
  • Carefully managed ecotourism can help finance wildlife protection while supporting conservation.
  • Trackers, rangers and local researchers have been essential—but often overlooked—partners in mountain gorilla conservation.
  • Preserving conservationists’ stories can strengthen community pride and inspire the next generation of wildlife protectors.

That combination matters. Mountain gorillas are neither simply fierce nor simply gentle. Their behavior makes more sense when viewed through the strength of their social bonds.

Research into play offered another window into those relationships. Silverbacks devote considerable energy to rough-and-tumble play with young gorillas, carefully adjusting their behavior so youngsters are not harmed. The Steklises connected this kind of play with emotional development and regulation.

A Species Moves Away From the Brink

By the time Fossey was working in Rwanda, the outlook for mountain gorillas was grim.

The Steklises described a Virunga population that had fallen from an estimated 450 animals in the 1960s to roughly 250. Snares set for other wildlife could maim or kill gorillas. Cattle entered protected habitat and competed for vegetation. Gorillas themselves were sometimes killed for trophies.

Fossey increasingly shifted her attention from observing gorillas to protecting them, including hiring and training anti-poaching patrols.

The work continued and broadened after her death, involving researchers, governments, conservation organizations and, critically, local communities. Education and carefully managed ecotourism became part of the conservation model. Tourism, the Steklises noted, can in this case help finance the protection of the very animals visitors come to see.

“It’s clearly a success. It’s very much a success story,” stated Drs. Dieter and Netzin Steklis. They reported that the total mountain gorilla population in Rwanda and Uganda had risen above 1,000 based on the most recent census they discussed, while the Virunga population had grown beyond 600.

That recovery is cause for hope—but not complacency.

“It’s clearly a success. It’s very much a success story.” Drs. Dieter and Netzin Steklis

The gorillas still occupy a remarkably constrained landscape. Agriculture presses directly against protected habitat, creating what the Steklises described as an ecological island surrounded by people. Expanding habitat therefore remains important to the population’s long-term future.

What Gorillas Can Teach Us About Strength

Some of the most memorable lessons from the Steklises’ fieldwork never fit neatly into scientific papers.

One involved Pablo, a gorilla who had interacted playfully with researchers when young. As Pablo matured into a powerful silverback, Dieter Steklis occasionally became part of his displays. Pablo would approach from behind, grab the strap of Steklis’s backpack and pull him several meters through the vegetation.

It was startling—but also revealing. “They show such measured strength when they’re interacting with you,” stated Dr. Dieter Steklis. 

Pablo possessed more than enough strength to injure a person, yet he controlled it. The experience illustrated the subtle social intelligence the researchers had observed repeatedly: strength tempered by awareness of another individual.

The Steklises emphasized that such physical interactions belong to an earlier era of gorilla research. Today, people maintain a respectful distance, and contact is neither allowed nor encouraged.

“They show such measured strength when they’re interacting with you.” Dr. Dieter Steklis

Stories like Pablo’s nevertheless reveal dimensions of gorilla behavior that statistics alone cannot capture. They remind us that conservation protects not simply a population number, but communities of intelligent, socially complex animals.

The People Behind the Recovery

The most important “untold story,” however, may be human.

For decades, local trackers, research assistants and rangers have followed gorilla families, supported scientists, removed threats and helped safeguard their habitat. Some have spent most of their working lives doing so. Some have died protecting wildlife. Dr. Netzin Steklis pointed out, “The conservation story is a success story, but it’s a success driven by all these people who contributed their heart and soul.”

One longtime conservationist, Fidel, began volunteering at the Karisoke Research Center as a teenager and continued working in research and coordinating trackers for decades. In a recollection shared during the presentation, he described the joy of watching gorillas safely moving through the forest and realizing that his work was about far more than employment: he was helping protect a family, a forest, and a shared future.

That sense of purpose is exactly what Netzin Steklis wants conservation to recognize.

“The conservation story is a success story, but it’s a success driven by all these people that contributed their heart and soul.” Dr. Netzin Steklis

Recognition, she argued, also builds social capital—the relationships, trust and shared identity that strengthen communities. When young people see conservationists respected by their communities, they may be more likely to imagine themselves following the same path.

That insight inspired the Steklises’ Untold Stories Project, an effort to preserve oral histories, photographs and lived experiences of mountain gorilla protectors before that knowledge disappears.

Practical Takeaways & Implications

Mountain gorilla recovery demonstrates that conservation can work. A population once feared to be approaching extinction has grown substantially through decades of research, protection, education, tourism and community involvement.

But protecting habitat and animals is only part of the equation.

Successful conservation also depends on people—and those people deserve visibility. Documenting the knowledge of veteran trackers and rangers can preserve valuable history while strengthening pride in conservation within local communities. The Steklises envision an accessible archive where future generations could discover how a parent, grandparent or great-uncle contributed to protecting gorillas.

There is also a practical opportunity for collaboration. The project needs expertise in oral history, photography, databases, archives and digital storytelling. As Netzin Steklis told the Earth Talks audience, networks such as Rotary can help connect the people who hold the stories with people who know how to preserve and share them.

The mountain gorilla story therefore offers two forms of hope: species can recover when people remain committed for decades, and conservation becomes stronger when the communities doing the work are treated as part of the story rather than standing invisibly behind it.

About This Earth Talk

Speakers: Dr. H. Dieter Steklis and Dr. Netzin Steklis

Dr. H. Dieter Steklis is Professor Emeritus of Primatology at Rutgers University and has held academic leadership and teaching positions at the University of Arizona. His research spans primate social behavior, cognition, communication, mountain gorilla behavior and conservation, and human-animal relationships. He formerly served as Director of the Karisoke Research Center and in senior leadership and scientific roles with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

Dr. Netzin Steklis is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the University of Arizona’s School of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences. Trained in anthropology, ecology, evolutionary biology, ethology and evolutionary psychology, she previously served for more than a decade as Director of Scientific Information Resources for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Her current work includes human-animal relationships, animal behavior and ethics.

Presented: 3 September 2026

🎥 Watch on YouTube: Earth Talks recording — link 

🎧 Listen as a Podcast: Earth Talks / Spotify recording — link 

📖 Read the Blog: Earth Talks — link

🌱 Learn more / Project links: Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International — https://gorillafund.org/ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patrick van Veen and Jane Goodall Institute

Inspired by Jane Goodall, Youth Engagement in Science & Conservation with Patrick van Veen

Patrick van Veen reflects on what made Jane Goodall such an enduring influence on young people—and why her approach to science, conservation and local action still offers a practical model for creating change.

Jane Goodall changed how the world understood chimpanzees. But according to behavioral biologist Patrick van Veen, her influence went far beyond her scientific discoveries.

Van Veen worked with the Jane Goodall Institute for nearly two decades, including five years as Global Chair, and traveled with Goodall, visited conservation projects and saw firsthand how she connected with young people.

In his Earth Talk, van Veen used personal photographs and memories to explore a deceptively simple question: Why was Jane Goodall so successful at inspiring young people?

His answer was not simply her scientific stature. Goodall remained curious, unconventional and willing to challenge accepted ways of doing things. She also connected conservation to people’s everyday lives.

Most importantly, she offered young people something that can be difficult to find amid today’s enormous environmental challenges: a meaningful place to begin.

A Scientist Who Looked Beyond the Data

Goodall arrived in what is now Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in 1960, at age 26, to observe wild chimpanzees. Her research would transform primatology.

Van Veen emphasized that Goodall’s gift was not simply observation. She understood the significance of what she saw.

Key Takeaways

  • Jane Goodall inspired young people by combining scientific curiosity with practical opportunities to act.
  • Effective conservation addresses the needs of people, wildlife and ecosystems together.
  • Roots & Shoots gives young people freedom to create solutions for their own communities.
  • Small, achievable actions can build confidence, skills and lifelong environmental engagement.
  • Hope becomes meaningful when people can see a practical way to contribute.

When a chimpanzee used plant material to fish for termites, for example, Goodall recognized that the behavior challenged prevailing ideas about tool use. She also broke convention by giving chimpanzees names rather than treating them only as numbered research subjects.

For van Veen, there is a lesson here for today’s young scientists. Data matter, but science also requires curiosity: noticing what does not fit neatly into the expected categories.

He recalled Goodall’s preference for recording observations on paper, where she could make drawings and side notes about behaviors outside the formal research checklist. Those seemingly small observations could lead somewhere important.

Science, in other words, begins not only with collecting information, but with paying attention.

Conservation Has to Include People

Goodall’s work eventually forced her to look beyond the chimpanzees themselves.

By 1986, she had become increasingly concerned about habitat loss and the pressures facing communities surrounding chimpanzee habitat. She concluded that research alone was not enough and began devoting much more of her life to conservation and advocacy.

That shift led to an approach that van Veen repeatedly emphasized: lasting conservation cannot succeed by treating people and wildlife as competing interests.

Around Gombe, communities need food, income, education, water and places to live. Chimpanzees need forests and connected habitat. Protecting one while ignoring the needs of the other is unlikely to create a lasting solution.

The Jane Goodall Institute’s community-centered conservation work therefore combined environmental restoration with practical support for local communities. Projects included tree nurseries, sustainable livelihoods, education, safe water systems, honey production and community land-use planning.

The underlying principle was straightforward: conservation works better when local people are partners in shaping their own future.

That thinking also helped provide the foundation for Goodall’s work with young people.

Young People Need the Freedom to Make a Difference

Van Veen remembered Goodall as someone who never entirely lost the spirit of a teenager. Even late in life, he said, she remained a little rebellious—willing to question convention and encourage others to choose a different path.

As he put it, Goodall taught young people and adults that “you can make a difference. And that’s your choice.”

Her message was not that individuals must solve the world’s environmental problems. It was that everyone can make a difference.

That philosophy became especially visible through Roots & Shoots, which began in Tanzania in 1991 after a small group of teenagers approached Goodall with concerns about problems in their communities. The program grew around action for three interconnected areas: people, animals and the environment.

Importantly, young people were not handed a rigid global program telling them exactly what to do. They were encouraged to identify problems around them and create their own responses.

A project could mean planting trees, protecting animals or improving a neighborhood. What mattered was engagement—the experience of seeing a problem and discovering that you could do something about it.

“You can make a difference.” Patrick van Veen

That freedom helped Roots & Shoots grow into an international grassroots movement. Van Veen described young people organizing conservation campaigns, supporting tree nurseries, cleaning beaches, helping animals and developing projects within communities and refugee settlements.

The scale of the environmental challenge may be global. The starting point does not have to be.

That sense of agency may be one of Goodall’s most important lessons for environmental education. People are more likely to remain engaged when they can see a connection between their actions and the world around them.

Hope Becomes Powerful When It Turns Into Action

Goodall understood that our everyday choices have consequences far beyond our immediate surroundings. Van Veen noted that the products people buy, the transportation they use and the way they live can affect ecosystems and communities thousands of kilometers away.

But Goodall did not leave young people with that overwhelming global responsibility.

Van Veen recalled that she gave them a different instruction: “Do small things.” Build a bee hotel. Collect litter from the street. Prepare a meal for someone who is alone. Start somewhere close enough that you can act.

This was not a dismissal of large environmental problems. It was a strategy for building participation.

Small actions teach skills, create relationships and give people evidence that change is possible. One local project can inspire another. A young person who plants trees, cleans a beach or helps an animal today may become tomorrow’s scientist, conservationist, community leader or engaged citizen.

“Do small things.” Patrick van Veen, recalling Jane Goodall's message

Goodall’s own life reinforced the same principle. Van Veen remembered her reusing coffee filters, keeping clothes for years and reminding him to put a lid on a pot to save energy. She did not simply tell people how they ought to live; she tried to live according to the values she advocated.

The point is not that a bee hotel or one reused coffee filter will solve climate change or biodiversity loss. The point is that action changes the person taking it—and can begin changing a community around them.

Conservation Needs Hope and Perspective

For van Veen, Goodall’s legacy was ultimately larger than chimpanzee research, conservation programs or even Roots & Shoots.

Near the end of his presentation, he returned to the quality he believed made her so compelling to generations of young people: “She brought hope and perspective to young people.”

That hope was grounded in action rather than wishful thinking.

Goodall saw damaged landscapes, threatened chimpanzee populations, poverty and enormous pressures on natural resources. Yet her response was to look for ways people could participate in solutions.

That meant listening to communities. It meant helping young people develop their own projects. It meant recognizing that protecting wildlife requires attention to human well-being. And it meant continuing to believe that individual choices matter even when no single individual can solve the whole problem.

“She brought hope and perspective to young people.” Patrick van Veen

This may be especially important for today’s young people, who encounter environmental crises through an almost constant stream of news and social media. Information alone does not necessarily create engagement. Without a pathway to action, it can create helplessness instead.

Goodall offered another path: understand the problem, find something within reach and begin.

Hope, in this sense, is not passive optimism. It is the belief that action remains worthwhile—and that people working together can change what happens next.

Practical Takeaways & Implications

Goodall’s approach offers useful lessons not only for conservation organizations, but also for educators, nonprofits, Rotary clubs and anyone trying to engage young people in environmental action.

Start with agency rather than anxiety. Environmental problems are enormous, but people need an achievable first step. Give young people opportunities to identify something they care about and help them act on it.

Connect people, animals and the environment. Conservation is strongest when human needs are part of the solution rather than treated as separate from nature.

Encourage observation and curiosity. Goodall’s scientific legacy reminds us that discoveries can begin with noticing something unexpected.

Make solutions local and practical. A tree nursery, wildlife project, community cleanup or neighborhood initiative may appear small, but these projects build experience and confidence.

Finally, model the behavior you hope to inspire. Goodall’s influence came partly from the consistency between her public message and her daily choices.

Her legacy suggests that the goal of environmental education should not be to convince young people that saving the planet rests on their shoulders. It should help them discover that they have a role to play—and that their contribution, joined with those of others, matters.

About This Earth Talk

Speaker: Patrick van Veen is a behavioral biologist, founder of Ape Management, speaker and author whose work translates insights from biology into practical knowledge for organizations, education and society. He joined the board of the Jane Goodall Institute Netherlands in 2008 and later served for five years as Global Chair of the Jane Goodall Institute. He remains affiliated with the Institute as a senior advisor and advises two chimpanzee sanctuaries in Africa.

Date presented: 27 August 2026

🎥 Watch on YouTube: Link 
🎧 Listen as a Podcast: Link 
📖 Read the Blog: Link

🌱 Learn more / Project links: 

  • Jane Goodall Institute
  • Roots & Shoots
  • Ten Trusts: What We Must Do To Care for the Animals We Love. Available through your favorite bookstore
  • Jane Goodall at 90: Celebrating an Astonishing Lifetime of Science, Advocacy, Humanism, Hope and Peace.   Available through your favorite bookstore
  • Love in Their Hearts: A Celebration of Animal Emotions and Guide to Compassionate Action by Marc Bekoff and Jeff Campbell. Available through your favorite bookstore
  • Every Elephant Has a Name, by Jane Goodall and Marc Bekoff, available February 2027 through your favorite bookstore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sanjay Krishna cover

… And Conservation for All with Rtn Sanjay Krishna

Wildlife conservation can sound like the work of scientists, governments and specialists. Sanjay Krishna offers a more accessible idea: millions of ordinary people can protect nature through simple choices, shared learning and restraint.

Sanjay Krishna does not introduce himself as a scientist, field biologist or professional wildlife photographer. He describes himself simply as a wildlife enthusiast—someone who loves observing wild creatures living according to the laws of nature.

That perspective is central to his message. Conservation, he argues, does not require a degree, a forest posting or a large organization. It can begin with something as ordinary as leaving a tree standing, keeping waste out of a lake or allowing a patch of land to recover naturally.

That philosophy helped Krishna turn a personal passion for wildlife into the Rotary Fellowship of Wildlifers for Conservation (RFWC), a global community now numbering more than 1,000 members. Its growth offers a practical lesson: conservation becomes more powerful when people see themselves as participants rather than spectators.

A Personal Interest Finds a Wider Community

Krishna’s conservation journey within Rotary began during his 2019–20 year as a club president. He organized a family visit to a wildlife sanctuary and later arranged a screening of a documentary about the wildlife of Karnataka, his home state in southern India. More than 500 Rotarians attended the screening.

Those experiences revealed something important. Interest in wildlife was already present. People simply needed opportunities to experience it together.

Key Takeaways

  • Conservation is something anyone can practice, regardless of professional training or field experience.
  • Preventing damage can be as valuable as launching a new environmental project.
  • Healthy restoration works with natural processes instead of simply beautifying landscapes.
  • Shared wildlife experiences can build friendships, awareness, and momentum for community service.
  • Millions of imperfect conservation choices can create meaningful collective change.

That enthusiasm soon expanded into service. Krishna’s club worked with residents of a rural village near Bangalore to rejuvenate a local lake. Rather than treating the project primarily as beautification, the effort focused on helping the lake function again as a natural water system.

Farmers and community members played the central role, while Rotary acted as a catalyst. Years later, Krishna said, the lake still holds water and attracts abundant birdlife, with more than 100 species observed there.

The experience connected fellowship, community participation and environmental restoration—and helped lay the foundation for something much larger.

Conservation Does Not Belong Only to Experts

When Krishna began exploring the idea of an international Rotary fellowship for wildlife enthusiasts, the word conservation initially gave him pause. He associated conservationists with experts doing intensive work in forests and field settings.

But a simpler definition changed his thinking: conservation is fundamentally about protecting the natural world from damage, waste, and destruction.

That opened the door to a more inclusive understanding. “To be a conservationist is not complicated. It is profoundly simple.”

In this view, conservation is not a professional identity reserved for a small group. Someone who avoids polluting water, protects habitat, reduces waste, or gives nature space to recover is already participating.

This idea eventually became central to the fellowship, which Rotary International recognized in January 2021. Its purpose was not only to bring wildlife enthusiasts together, but also to help ordinary people recognize that their interests, knowledge, and everyday choices could contribute to conservation.

“To be a conservationist is not complicated. It is profoundly simple.” Rtn Sanjay Krishna

The fellowship began organizing monthly talks featuring experts on subjects ranging from elephants, tigers, and African wildlife to birds, butterflies, ants, and marine life. The model placed experts and amateurs in the same community, connected by curiosity and a shared desire to protect wildlife.

Sometimes the Best Conservation Action Is Restraint

Much environmental messaging focuses on what people should do: plant, restore, build, clean, organize or campaign. Krishna adds another dimension—what we choose not to do.

A tree that is not cut continues providing habitat. Plastic that is not discarded into water causes no pollution there. Soil that is not unnecessarily disturbed can continue supporting the living systems within it.  “Sometimes the biggest contribution any of us can make is restraint.”

Krishna applies the same principle to restoration. In discussing the lake project, he cautioned against confusing rejuvenation with cosmetic improvement. A functioning lake needs appropriate depth, clear feeder channels for incoming rainwater, and room for natural ecological processes.

Nature does not always need people to redesign it. Sometimes it needs people to remove an obstacle and let natural processes resume.

“Sometimes the biggest contribution any of us can make is restraint.” Rtn Sanjay Krishna

That principle can apply at smaller scales, too. Let grass grow in appropriate places. Let soil breathe. Allow leaves and organic matter to perform their ecological roles. Make space for birds, insects, and other wildlife.

Conservation, then, can be as much about subtraction as addition.

From a Rotary District to a Global Fellowship

Online connections during the COVID-19 pandemic helped Krishna meet Rotarians beyond his district and country. What began as local wildlife activities evolved into an international network.

RFWC was formally launched in December 2020 and approved as an official Rotary fellowship in January 2021. Six years into the journey, Krishna reported that it had grown to more than 1,000 members across more than 20 countries.

Members are encouraged to create regional chapters, visit one another’s countries, experience local wildlife and support Rotary projects. The fellowship is designed to make conservation social as well as practical—building friendships while expanding awareness.

That scale matters because Krishna does not believe environmental progress depends on a small number of flawless conservationists. “We don’t need 10 people doing conservation perfectly. We need 10 million people doing it imperfectly.”

The message lowers a barrier that can prevent people from acting: the fear that individual efforts are too small or imperfect to matter.

“We don’t need 10 people doing conservation perfectly. We need 10 million people doing it imperfectly.” Rtn Sanjay Krishna

A person can conserve water. Reduce waste. Protect a tree. Avoid a damaging purchase. Learn about local birds. Support habitat restoration. Share knowledge with young people. None of these actions requires professional credentials.

Collectively, however, they create a culture in which protecting nature becomes normal.

Practical Takeaways & Implications

Krishna’s approach offers a useful starting point for Rotary clubs, schools, community organizations and individuals: begin with what is close enough to understand and practical enough to change.

Look first for unnecessary harm that can be avoided. Reducing single-use materials, keeping waste out of waterways, saving water and protecting existing vegetation may accomplish more than launching complicated projects without understanding the local ecosystem.

When restoration is needed, work with local communities and people who understand the landscape. The lake project near Bangalore succeeded, Krishna emphasized, because local farmers participated and Rotary served as a catalyst rather than trying to control the entire process.

Education matters, too. Wildlife trips, birdwatching, documentary screenings and talks with knowledgeable speakers can turn curiosity into connection. People are more likely to protect species and places they have learned to notice and value.

Most importantly, conservation does not have to begin with perfection. It begins with participation.

Protecting the natural world is not simply an act of generosity toward wildlife. Healthy soil, pollinators, clean water, trees and functioning ecosystems support human communities as well. Conservation is therefore both responsibility and shared self-interest—and everyone can contribute.

About This Earth Talk

Speaker: Sanjay Krishna, Founder and Chairman of the Rotary Fellowship of Wildlifers for Conservation (RFWC). Krishna founded the fellowship to connect Rotarians, Rotaractors, and other wildlife enthusiasts around conservation, friendship, and service. In six years, the network has grown to more than 1,000 members internationally.

Date presented: 20 August 2026

🎥 Watch on YouTube: Link 
🎧 Listen as a Podcast: Link 
📖 Read the Blog: …and Conservation for All with Rtn Sanjay Krishna

🌱 Learn more / Project links: Rotary Fellowship of Wildlifers for Conservation