Dr Jane Goodall dead at 91: Tributes flow for pioneering primatologist
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Leonardo DiCaprio have led tributes for renowned British conservationist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, who has died at the age of 91.
Dr Jane Goodall, the British anthropologist and conservationist whose work with great apes in Africa inspired the world, has died. She was 91.
Her death was announced by the Jane Goodall Institute 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,” the organisation said on Instagram.
“She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States. Dr Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionised science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world.”
Her long-term studies of chimpanzees in Tanzania revolutionised human understanding of primate behaviour, while her advocacy in the fight against climate change was marked by an uncommon trait: optimism.
“I do have reasons for hope,” she once said, citing “our clever brains, the resilience of nature, the indomitable human spirit, and above all, the commitment of young people when they’re empowered to take action.”
With her neat silver ponytail and kindly demeanour, she was revered as one of the world’s most influential conservationists, and a sought-after speaker.
Born in Bournemouth, England, Goodall grew up reading about the animals of Africa through books like Tarzan and Doctor Dolittle. Following school she trained to be a secretary, but her interest in wildlife would take her to Kenya, where she worked in a museum before landing a field trip assistant role in the Serengetti.
Initially untrained, she would go on to attain her PhD in ethology through Cambridge University in 1966.
She would go on to make her name through long-term studies of the chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.
Her key discoveries at Gombe included seeing evidence of chimpanzees using and even making tools – a characteristic that had previously been attributable to humans alone. She also discovered chimpanzees were omnivorous, and not herbivores as previously thought.
But she was also criticised by some other researchers for anthropomorphising her subjects by giving individual animals names and touching them (a practice she would later stop).
“I did not have the easiest of times,” Goodall was to tell Stellar magazine in 2017. “They did not like that what I was doing challenged the way we thought about chimpanzees, that they had feelings [and] used their minds. And they really didn’t like me naming them.”
Her studies at Gombe would continue well into the 1980s, although eventually she would come to be known more as a conservationist, speaking out on land clearing, and later, climate change.
She was the subject of scores of documentaries, authored many books both for adults and children, and established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977.
Her advocacy continued throughout her life; as recently as September 2024 she was imploring people the world over to “vote for nature”.
She was married twice; the first, to Dutch Baron Hugo van Lawick, ended in divorce in 1974 after 10 years. She married Tanzanian MP Derek Byceson in 1975 but he died of cancer in 1980.
Among her many accolades and honorary degrees, she was feted by the United Nations, and had both Barbie and Lego figures created in her honour. She was made a Dame in 2003.
She is survived by her son, Hugo Louis van Lawick, and grandchildren Merlin, Nick and Angel.
Tributes have flooded in for the beloved zoologist from across the globe, with commiserations from celebrities to politicians.
Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle hailed Goodall as a “visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us.”
“Her commitment to changing lives extends beyond what the world saw, and also to what we personally felt.”
Actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio wrote on Instagram about how she “awakened the next generation.”
“Jane Goodall devoted her life to protecting our planet and giving a voice to the wild animals and the ecosystems they inhabit,” he said.
“Her groundbreaking research on Chimpanzees in Tanzania transformed our understanding of how our closest relatives live, socialise, and think – reminding us that we are deeply connected not only to Chimpanzees and the other great apes, but to all life.”
A “heartbroken” Jane Fonda, shared an emotional message for her friend.
“Through her work with chimps, she did more than any human being has, to let us understand the richness of animal lives: their intelligence, skills, unique personalities, use of tools, empathy, suffering when one of theirs was killed,” the activist and movie star wrote.
“I loved her very much. I think the best way we can honour her life is to treat the earth and all its beings like our family, with love and respect.”
“Jane Goodall had a remarkable ability to inspire us to connect with the natural wonders of our world, and her groundbreaking work on primates and the importance of conservation opened doors for generations of women in science,” former US president Barack Obama said on X.
“Above all, Jane taught us that when we search for humanity in the natural world around us, we discover it within ourselves,” former US president Joe Biden said.
In January, during the last days of his tenure, Biden awarded Goodall the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Former Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau described her as a pioneer in his tribute.
“Heartbroken to hear of Dr. Jane Goodall’s passing,” he shared.
“She was a pioneer whose research and advocacy reshaped our understanding of the natural world.
“Her wisdom and compassion will live on in every act of conservation.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on X that Goodall leaves an “extraordinary legacy for humanity & our planet.”
“I’m deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Jane Goodall, our dear Messenger of Peace,” he added, referencing the honorary position Goodall held since 2002 at the global body for her conservation work.
Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director Will McCallum described Goodall as “one of the true conservation giants of our time.”
“It’s now incumbent upon all of us to honour her legacy by continuing the fight to protect the world’s forests.”
The president of Tanzania, where Goodall studied chimpanzees, said her “pioneering work at Gombe National Park transformed wildlife conservation.”
That research “placed our country at the heart of global efforts to protect chimpanzees and nature,” President Samia Suluhu wrote on X.
Kitty Block, president and CEO of Humane World for Animals, said that Goodall “made history by inspiring generations of people to love animals and to care deeply about their welfare.”
“Goodall’s influence on the animal protection community is immeasurable, and her work on behalf of primates and all animals will never be forgotten.”
“Dr Jane Goodall was able to share the fruits of her research with everyone, especially the youngest, and to change our view of great apes,” Audrey Azoulay, director general of UNESCO, told AFP.
Former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres also shared footage of when Dr Goodall made a special appearance on the show to mark her 85th birthday, sharing advice her mother gave her about becoming a scientist.
– with AFP
Originally published as Dr Jane Goodall dead at 91: Tributes flow for pioneering primatologist
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