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Dr. Jane Goodall, widely regarded as the world's most celebrated expert of chimpanzees, has died at the age of 91, the Jane Goodall Institute confirmed in a statement shared on its social media accounts Wednesday (October 1).
"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," the statement reads. "She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States."
Goodall made revolutionary discoveries as an ethologist and was a lifelong advocate for the protection and restoration of the natural world. The London native initially began her research of chimpanzees in their Tanzania habitat in July 1960 at the age of 26, proving that primates display several behaviors similar to humans, such as how they communicate and have varying personalities.
"Their behavior, with their gestures, kissing, embracing, holding hands and patting on the back," Goodall told ABC News in 2020. "...The fact that they can actually be violent and brutal and have a kind of war, but also loving an altruistic."
Goodall's unique approach of immersing herself in the primates' habitat allowed her to experience their society as a neighbor, rather than a distant observer, allowed her to develop "a breakthrough approach to species conservation that improves the lives of people, animals and the environment by honoring their connectedness to each other," according to the Jane Goodall Institute's website.