Jane Goodall, the most important expert in the chimpanzee world, passed away at the age of 91. Goodall died of natural causes during a speaking tour in Los Angeles, California.
Goodall is an astounding example of courage and belief, working tirelessly throughout life, raising awareness of the threat to wildlife, promoting conservation, and inspires more harmonious and sustainable relationships between people, animals and nature,” reads JGI’s statement.
In 1966, Goodall took a break from working at Gombe and earned his PhD from Cambridge University. Her doctoral thesis details her years of study at Gombe. One important observation made by Goodall, made in the national park, was that chimpanzees could make tools and use them.
The discovery of chimpanzee tool creation countered the general assumption at the point that only humans are intelligent enough to make tools. The revelation urged us to declare, “Now, we must now redefine our tools, redefine humans, and embrace chimpanzees as humans.”
Goodall was the first to document the hunting and eating meat, revealing that scientists were omnivorous rather than vegetarians he thought. She also saw chimpanzees mourn after the death of members of the army and embrace each other, developing a kind of primitive language system.
However, Goodall documented unsettling behaviors that he had never seen before, including the dominant woman who killed other female youths.
“We found that chimpanzees could be brutal. They, like us, had a dark side to their nature,” Goodall wrote in her book, “Reasons for Hope: A Spiritual Journey” (Grand Central Publishing, 2000).
In the 1970s, Goodall became increasingly concerned about conservation efforts across Gombe and across Africa and in 1977 he founded the non-profit J-Goodal Institute. JGI maintains presence at the Gombe Stream Research Center (now the world’s longest-running chimpanzee research), and also helps teach young people around the world about environmental protection.
Up until her death, Goodall traveled the world for nearly 300 days a year, talking about wildlife conservation and the environmental crisis, according to a statement from JGI. Her public lectures often began with “Dr. Jane” greeting the audience with a chimpanzee, and she emphasized the collective power of individual actions for the benefit of the environment. In a 2002 essay published on Time Magazine, Goodall wrote, “The biggest danger to our future is indifference.”
In a statement, UNESCO Director Audrey Azurey said, “Dr. Jane Goodall was able to share the lessons of her research to everyone, especially young people. She changed her chimpanzee greetings at UNESCO last year.
Goodall was survived by his sister Judy Waters, son Hugo Eric Lewis Van Roeck, a child called “Grub” and three grandchildren. Grub spent her childhood at Gombe, and Goodall’s Chimpanzees observations helped her understand how to raise her son, she told People Magazine in 1977.
“Chimpanzees have a very close bond between their mother and their children,” she said, “and this is how I raised the glove.”
In her 60 years of spreading the environmental message with primates, Goodall has urged other women to become scientists, receiving numerous awards, including the British Imperial Order (1995), the United Nations Messenger of Peace (2002), the French Legion (2006), and the President’s Freedom Middle School.
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