Jane Goodall, the famed primatologist, anthropologist and conservationist who reshaped humanity's understanding of chimpanzees, died Wednesday at 91, according to the Jane Goodall Institute.
Jane Goodall’s Lifelong Advocacy And Scientific Impact
She died of natural causes in California while on a U.S. speaking tour, the institute said. "Her discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world," the institute said in its statement.
Gombe Breakthroughs To Global Environmental Voice
According to Reuters, Goodall's fieldwork began in 1960, after she traveled to what is now Tanzania at the age of 26, where years of close observation in Gombe Stream upended orthodoxy. Goodall observed chimpanzees making and using tools, displaying complex social bonds and exhibiting a range of emotions long thought to be uniquely human. Those findings helped narrow the perceived gap between species and remade modern primatology.
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Born in England, Goodall often said her love of animals started "practically at birth." As a child in London and Bournemouth, she dreamed of Africa. Reading "Doctor Dolittle" and "Tarzan" at age 10 set her life's course, she later told ABC News. Her institute would grow into a global conservation network and youth movement through Roots & Shoots, even as she spent her later decades campaigning on climate, habitat loss and humane science.
Tributes poured in worldwide after confirmation of her death, with local news outlet ABC7 Los Angeles noting that her final days were spent doing what she had done for decades, which is speaking to students and the public about hope and responsibility toward the natural world.
Photo Courtesy: vitrolphoto on Shutterstock.com
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