Which cartoonist created the 1987 Far Side cartoon involving Jane Goodall?

Gary Larson created the 1987 Far Side cartoon involving Jane Goodall.

The single-panel cartoon shows two chimpanzees grooming. One finds a blond human hair on the other and jokes about conducting more “research” with “that Jane Goodall tramp.” The gag played on the public association between Goodall and chimpanzee research, but its wording also made the cartoon unusually provocative.

A representative of the Jane Goodall Institute considered the cartoon offensive and prepared a strongly worded complaint to Larson and his syndicate. Goodall herself was in Africa when it appeared and learned about the controversy later. Unlike the initial institutional response, she reportedly found the cartoon amusing and appreciated Larson’s habit of reversing human and animal perspectives.

Larson later visited Goodall’s research facility in Tanzania in 1988. Goodall wrote a preface for The Far Side Gallery 5, and profits from merchandise featuring the cartoon were directed to the Jane Goodall Institute. The Far Side itself ran from 1980 until Larson’s retirement in 1995.