Jane Goodall, the celebrated primatologist and conservationist best known for her work studying the behavior of chimpanzees, died Wednesday, Oct. 1. She was 91.
The Jane Goodall Institute confirmed Goodall’s death in a statement. The organization said she died from “natural causes” while in California on a 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.”
Goodall’s work observing primates at the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanzania during the 1960s yielded several major scientific discoveries. She observed the chimpanzees eating meat, engaging in ritualistic activities like rain dances, fighting and showing affection, and — maybe most significantly — using tools.
These findings refuted longstanding preconceived beliefs about humans and animals. And in a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, when asked to share one key fact from her research, she homed in on this sentiment: “That we humans have been terribly arrogant. We are part of and not separated from the rest of the animal kingdom — we are not the only sentient, sapient beings on the planet.”
In the decades after she published her work at Gombe, Goodall would continue to study primates, while also advocating for an array of environmental causes. She published numerous books — from scientific tomes to memoirs to children’s books — and appeared in an array of films and nature documentaries.
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Stevie Nicks even wrote a song about Goodall, “Jane,” which continued the chorus, “There are angels here, angels/There are angels here on earth, angles/Angels, sent from God/You will never feel, that you have ever done enough/But you have, Jane.”
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