2 Oct 2025
The pioneering animal behaviour expert’s observations, including tool-use by non-human animals, challenged long-standing scientific beliefs.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Jane Goodall, who was named a UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.
Tributes have poured in from around the world for renowned conservationist, ethologist and primatologist Jane Goodall, who died on 1 October aged 91.
Dr Goodall died of natural causes while in Los Angeles as part of a speaking tour in the United States.
The Jane Goodall Institute paid tribute to its founder as “a remarkable example of courage and conviction, working tirelessly throughout her life to raise awareness about threats to wildlife, promote conservation, and inspire a more harmonious, sustainable relationship between people, animals and the natural world”.
It added: “Dr Goodall’s life and work not only made an indelible mark on our understanding of chimpanzees and other species, but also of humankind and the environments we all share.”
Dr Goodall was named a UN Messenger of Peace in 2002, and the organisation’s secretary-general, António Guterres, wrote on X he was “deeply saddened” by the news, adding: “She is leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and our planet. I’m grateful for her lifelong environmental protection efforts and her strong support for the UN.”
Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said she “was one of the true conservation giants of our time” and “a tireless advocate for the protection of wildlife and forests, inspiring millions to act”.
Les Ward, chairman of the International Animal Welfare Protection Coalition, said: “Jane was more than a conservationist, she was a beacon of compassion for all life.”
He added: “The world is poorer without her, but her legacy will live on forever.”
The animal behaviour expert also received tributes from former US presidents Joe Biden, who awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this year, and Barack Obama, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Dr Goodall was born in London in 1934. In 1960, at the age of 26, she established the longest running wild chimpanzee study – which is still ongoing – in Gombe National Park, Tanzania.
Most notably, through her observations, she discovered the use of tools by primates – at the time thought to be exclusive to humans – when she observed a chimpanzee using twigs and grass stalks to retrieve termites out of a mound.
Her continued research saw her recognised as the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees and their behaviour, and in 2004 she received a damehood for her services to the environment and conservation.
