Dr. Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most beloved conservationists and the foremost expert on chimpanzees, has died at the age of 91.
The Jane Goodall Institute announced the news in a Wednesday statement, confirming she passed away of natural causes while in California as part of her U.S. speaking tour.
“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” the statement read. The institute also shared on social media, “The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute has passed away due to natural causes. She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.”
Goodall, who began her groundbreaking research in Tanzania at age 26, forever changed the way the world understands primates. In July 1960, she entered Gombe Stream National Park and began her lifelong work observing chimpanzees in the wild. Over time, she proved that the species communicates, develops unique personalities, and even makes and uses tools—traits once believed to be uniquely human.
Among her most memorable revelations was “how like us” chimpanzees really are. In a 2020 interview with ABC News, Goodall explained, “Their behavior, with their gestures, kissing, embracing, holding hands and patting on the back … the fact that they can actually be violent and brutal and have a kind of war, but also loving and altruistic.”
Her discoveries did not just change primatology—they redefined humanity’s understanding of itself. Beyond her fieldwork, Goodall dedicated her life to conservation, founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 to fight habitat destruction and illegal wildlife trafficking. She later launched Roots & Shoots, a global youth program encouraging young people to take action for animals, people and the environment.
Named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2002, Goodall became a tireless voice for animals and the planet, traveling the globe to speak about conservation well into her later years. She often said she hoped to inspire future generations to take responsibility for the natural world.
“She doesn’t just study chimpanzees,” one colleague once noted. “She makes people care about them.”
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