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Jane Goodall, renowned chimpanzee researcher and conservationist, has died at 91, the Jane Goodall Institute announced<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d read a statement<\/a> from Goodall\u2019s non-profit conservation organization.<\/p>\n The statement continued, \u201cDr. Goodall\u2019s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans have flooded the Institute\u2019s official announcement with tributes to Goodall and the impact she\u2019s had on their understanding of animals and wildlife conservation.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my idols… Rest in peace Jane and thank you for inspiring generations of girls\u201d one user wrote on Instagram, while another added, \u201cShe was my hero since i could speak. I\u2019ll always be grateful for the joy she brought into this world. I\u2019ll always love her.\u201d<\/p>\n Born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on April 3, 1934, in Hampstead, London, Goodall was considered the world\u2019s leading expert on chimpanzees. Her research began in 1957, after traveling to Kenya and meeting Louis Leakey, a renowned anthropologist, who encouraged her to study the human origins of chimpanzees. In 1960, after establishing a camp in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, Goodall dedicated herself to closely observing the behavioral patterns of chimpanzees. Through her empathetic approach, Goodall was able to earn the chimpanzees\u2019 trust, allowing her to make revolutionary discoveries and effectively change the way animals are studied.<\/p>\n But Goodall\u2019s legacy and cultural impact extend beyond her life\u2019s work: She\u2019s also considered one of the first \u201cpop-culture scientist-communicators<\/a>\u201d by National Geographic. Below, we\u2019ve rounded up five unique facts about the late wildlife conservationist.<\/p>\n Stevie Nicks penned the track \u201cJane\u201d about Goodall. Serving as a celebration of Goodall\u2019s life and accomplishments, it was the final track on Nicks\u2019s 1994 album, Street Angel<\/em>. Nicks debuted the track, which was then titled \u201cJane\u2019s Song,\u201d at the International Tribute to Jane Goodall, a benefit held in Dallas in October 1991.<\/p>\n On the chorus, Nicks sings, \u201cThere are angels, here on earth, angels\/ There are angels, here on earth\/ Angels, send from God\/ Come away from the wall, stay with us\/ Well, you can, Jane.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n While chatting with GQ in 2021<\/a>, Goodall revealed how much she\u2019s enjoyed learning about \u201cthe intelligence of the octopus,\u201d citing the 2020 film, My Octopus Teacher<\/em>. Goodall said that she\u2019d become close friends with the film\u2019s director, Craig Foster. The pair, Goodall told GQ, frequently communicated about the wonders of the deep ocean.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s new things cropping up all the time in the world of animals, insects, birds, and more sophisticated ways of studying them. It’s just a magic time for any student who wants to go into that field,\u201d Goodall said.<\/p>\n My Octopus Teacher <\/em>went on to win the Academy Award<\/a> for Best Documentary Feature in 2021.<\/p>\n In the same 2021 interview with GQ<\/a>, Goodall elaborated on her belief that Bigfoot could very well exist. Goodall opened up about a previous trip to Ecuador, which informed this belief. \u201cEvery single country,\u201d she added, has its own version of the myth.<\/p>\n \u201cYeti, Yowie in Australia, Wild Man in China. So I don’t know if it’s perhaps a myth that stems from maybe the last of the Neanderthals,\u201d Goodall disclaimed. \u201cBut then is the last of the Neanderthals still living in these remote forests? I don’t know. But I’m not going to say it doesn’t exist and I’m not going to say people who believe in it are stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n While chatting with Yahoo in 2018<\/a> Goodall admitted that her appearance garnered considerable attention early in her career. Though it helped that she \u201cwasn\u2019t born ugly,\u201d she said the emphasis placed on her looks felt \u201cpretty stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothing to do with how you know your study, what you look like. But if they were going to, if that was going to give me more coverage, then that would be helpful because it was always having to get more money and also getting the word out,\u201d she told Yahoo.<\/p>\n Goodall, however, believes that the treatment of women in science has improved.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s much, much better,\u201d she told Yahoo. \u201cBut I think there are some branches of hard science where it\u2019s still difficult for women and especially in some countries. But it\u2019s definitely changing. And in some respects, it\u2019s changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Goodall\u2019s fascination with chimpanzees began when she was a child. At just 1 year old, Goodall\u2019s father gave her a stuffed chimpanzee, which fostered her deep appreciation for animals. Goodall named her plushie \u201cJubilee\u201d to celebrate the birth of the London Zoo\u2019s first chimpanzee.<\/p>\n \u201cIn all my childhood, I never wanted a doll, I wanted toy animals, and a chimpanzee was so exotic, but I never thought of studying chimpanzees at the time,\u201d Goodall revealed in a 2021 interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nGoodall inspired a Stevie Nicks song<\/h2>\n
Goodall loved more than just chimpanzees<\/h2>\n
Goodall acknowledged her looks helped her get publicity<\/h2>\n
It all started with a stuffed animal named Jubilee<\/h2>\n