I discovered … chimps using tools – and people wouldn’t believe me

The first time I met a great ape in the wild I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to studying primates. Then I saw something that changed our understanding forever

I was born in Ngomboku village, surrounded by the lush, evergreen forests of what is now the Bakossi national park in Cameroon. My parents were primary school teachers and they moved between villages every few years, so I saw many different places. I got really interested in maps and ended up studying geography.

In 2004 I went into the Ebo forest in west Cameroon for the first time. I remember that day clearly - listening to the dense canopy of trees vibrating in the wind, the sight and crowing of colourful birds and monkeys. I had never heard or seen anything like it before. Little did I know that a year later I would see something in that forest that would change our understanding of chimpanzee culture" for ever.