Dr. Jane Goodall (1934-2025) was a true icon in the fields of primatology, anthropology, conservation and environmentalism. In her passing away on October 1, 2025, at 91, the world has lost a life-long advocate of conservation who furthered humanity’s understanding of its primate kin.
Born on April 3, 1934, in London, England, Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall defied conventions and revolutionised our understanding of chimpanzees and their place in the natural world.
Goodall’s fascination with animals began in her childhood.
When she was a child, Jane Goodall's father gave her a stuffed toy chimpanzee named Jubilee as an alternative to a teddy bear. Goodall had said her fondness for it sparked her early love of animals, commenting, "My mother's friends were horrified by this toy, thinking it would frighten me and give me nightmares." Jubilee was still on Goodall's dresser in London as of the year 2000. - Wikipedia
At 23, she travelled to Tanzania (then Tanganyika) to work with renowned Kenyan paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, who encouraged her groundbreaking research on wild chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park.
In 1960, Goodall embarked on her pioneering study of chimpanzees at Gombe. Her immersive observations led to several paradigm-shifting discoveries:
- Use of Tools: Goodall observed chimpanzees using sticks to extract termites from their mounds, challenging the notion that tool-making was exclusive to humans
- Omnivorous Diet: She found that chimps hunt and eat meat, contrary to earlier beliefs that they were herbivores
- Complex Social Structures: Goodall documented intricate social behaviours, alliances, grooming, and even violent conflicts, among chimpanzees
- Emotional Depth: Her work revealed that chimpanzees experience emotions akin to humans, reshaping our perceptions of animal sentience
In 1966 Goodall was awarded a PhD in ethology (the science of animal behaviour) by the University of Cambridge. She attended Newnham College, Cambridge, to pursue her Doctorate degree, and her thesis on the Behaviour of free-living chimpanzees detailed her first five years of study at the Gombe Reserve. Incidentally, she was the eighth person to be allowed to study for a PhD at Cambridge without first having obtained a bachelor’s degree.
As a pioneer in primate ethology, Goodall introduced several innovations in her research on chimpanzees, which had a major impact on how the non-human primates are viewed as a species closest to the humans in the evolutionary cycle:
- Naming Animals: Goodall controversially named chimpanzees (like David Greybeard, Goliath, Mike, Humphrey, Gigi, Flo, etc.) instead of numbering them, fostering empathy and individual understanding
- Longest Continuous Field Study: Her >60-year research at Gombe remains one of the longest studies of wild animals
- Redefining Humanity: Goodall’s findings compelled scientists to reassess what distinguishes humans from other primates
- Chimpanzee Lady: Setting herself apart from other researchers also led her to develop a close bond with the chimpanzees and to become the only human ever accepted into chimpanzee society
Goodall’s work evolved into passionate advocacy for animal welfare, conservation and environment protection:
- Jane Goodall Institute: Founded in 1977, promotes community-centred conservation globally
- Roots & Shoots: Launched in 1991, this youth programme empowers young people worldwide to drive positive change for animals, people and the planet
- TACARE (Lake Tanganyika Catchment Reforestation and Education): Focusses on reforestation and sustainability around Gombe
- Goodall also established sanctuaries and reforestation projects in Africa and campaigned for the ethical treatment of animals in research, farming and captivity
Goodall authored impactful publications like In the Shadow of Man (1971), a book-length study which was later translated into 48 languages; and her 1990 memoir, Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. Throughout her career Goodall wrote 32 books, 15 of them for children, and was the subject of over 40 films. Her work inspired National Geographic documentaries and the IMAX film Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees. She remained an active lecturer, travelling extensively to promote conservation and climate action.
As of 2019, the field of primatology is made up almost evenly of men and women, in part thanks to the trailblazing work of Goodall and her encouragement of young women to join the field.
Goodall received numerous accolades in recognition of her life-long work. Among the major ones, she was honoured as the UN Messenger of Peace in 2002, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003. She received the Templeton Prize in 2021 and the US Presidential Medal of Freedom 2025. She was also featured in TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2019.
The Open University of Tanzania awarded Dr. Goodall an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2006. She became an honorary fellow of both Newnham College (her alma mater) and Darwin College, Cambridge, in 2019, when she was also awarded an honorary doctorate.
Gombe National Park is located along Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. This smallest Tanzanian national park, made famous by Jane Goodall’s life-long research on chimpanzees, features rugged terrain with lush forests, steep valleys and numerous streams and waterfalls, offering visitors a unique opportunity to see wild chimpanzees, other primates like baboons and colobus monkeys, and a variety of other wildlife through guided hikes.