Jane Goodall, known for her ground-breaking studies involving chimpanzees, has died
Dame Jane Goodall, known for her ground-breaking studies involving chimpanzees, has died. Jane, who was born in Hampstead, North London, is considered the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, after 60 years’ studying the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees
A post on her Facebook page said: “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. She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.
“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world.”
Jane began her research aged 26 in east Africa in 1960 observing chimpanzees and revealed their capability to engage in complex social behaviours like tickling.
When she was a child, Goodall’s father gave her a stuffed toy chimpanzee named Jubilee as an alternative to a teddy bear. Goodall has 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 sat on Goodall’s dresser in London.
In 1960, at the age of 26, she travelled to Gombe Stream National Park in what is now Tanzania to study chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Without formal scientific training at the time, she brought a fresh perspective to her work and made discoveries that changed the way people thought about animals. She observed chimpanzees making and using tools, something previously believed to be uniquely human. She also revealed the complexity of chimpanzee social life, documenting cooperation, hunting, aggression, play and emotional bonds within their groups.
Although she did not have a university degree when she began her research, Goodall went on to earn a PhD in ethology from Cambridge University in 1965. She became one of the first researchers to be awarded a doctorate there without first completing an undergraduate degree.
In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect chimpanzees and their habitats, while also supporting community-led conservation and development initiatives. In 1991, she created Roots & Shoots, a youth program that now operates in over 60 countries and encourages young people to take action on environmental, conservation and humanitarian issues.
Jane Goodall went on to become not only a leading voice for animal welfare and conservation, but also a tireless advocate for the environment. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In recognition of her global impact, she was also named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
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