Renowned ethologist, conservationist, and environmental activist Dr Jane Goodall DBE died, aged 91. The Jane Goodall Institute shared the news of her death on its 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. 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 the natural world.”
In a separate message, the Institute wrote:
“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. She inspired curiosity, hope and compassion in countless people around the world, and paved the way for many others — particularly young people who gave her hope for the future.”
Born April 3, 1934, in London, England, she was interested in animals from a very young age.
Jane originally became famous for her research on the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania during the 1960s and 1970s. She conducted ground-breaking work that revealed that chimpanzees are, for example, capable of making and using tools and that they are omnivorous rather than vegetarian.
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EXCLUSIVE: Dr Jane Goodall shares her message of hope
Dr Jane Goodall went on to gain a PhD in ethology at the University of Cambridge in 1965 and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2003. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 and, through that, created a youth program in 1991 called Roots & Shoots. The program is now in more than 60 countries.
Right up until the end of her life, she was campaigning tirelessly to protect chimpanzees, which are now endangered, and to protect the environment from such things as global warming and the destruction of biodiversity. In fact, only last year [2024], she was touring the world – spending more time away from her home in Bournemouth, England than time spent there. Despite her age, she felt she had to keep going: “I was put on this world with a mission, so I just have to carry on,” she told The Weekly in 2024.
“We’re going through dark times socially, politically and environmentally,” she added. “We do have a window of time to change this planet’s course, but it’s rapidly closing. Humanity is at the mouth of a very long, dark tunnel and right at the end is a little star – that’s hope.”
Talking about dying with The Weekly when she was aged 90, she said: “I’m absolutely sure, myself, that death isn’t the end, but heaven knows what happens afterwards.”
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