Jane Goodall, Famed Primatologist and Conservationist, Dies At 91

Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, anthropologist, and conservationist, has died at the age of 91 while on a speaking tour in California. The British primatologist's 'discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,' according to the institute she founded. From a report: Goodall was only 26 years old when she first traveled to Tanzania and began her important research on chimpanzees in the wild. Throughout her study of the species, Goodall proved that primates display an array of similar behaviors to humans, such as the ability to develop individual personalities and make and use their own tools. Among the most surprising discoveries Goodall made was 'how like us' the chimpanzees are, she told ABC News in 2020.

'Their behavior, with their gestures, kissing, embracing, holding hands and patting on the back,' she said. '... The fact that they can actually be violent and brutal and have a kind of war, but also loving an altruistic.' That discovery is considered one of the great achievements of 20th-century scholarship, according to the Jane Goodall Institute. Goodall's research garnered both scientific honors and mainstream fame, and she was credited with paving the way for a rise in women pursuing careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) over the years. The number of women in STEM has increased from 7% to 26% in the six last decades, according to The Jane Goodall Institute, which cited census information from 1970 to 2011.

In 1991, she also founded Roots & Shoots, a global humanitarian and environmental program for young people. She was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in April 2002. The anthropologist continued to lend her voice to environmental causes well into her 80s and 90s. In 2019, Goodall acknowledged the climate crisis and the importance of mitigating further warming, telling ABC News that the planet is 'imperiled.' 'We are definitely at a point where we need to make something happen,' she said.

'We are imperiled. We have a window of time. I'm fairly sure we do. But, we've got to take action.' Goodall even partnered with Apple in 2022 to encourage customers to recycle their devices to reduce individual carbon footprint and cut down on unnecessary mineral mining around the world. 'Yes, people need to make money, but it is possible to make money without destroying the planet,' Goodall told ABC News at the time. 'We've gone so far in destroying the planet that it's shocking.'

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