Refer China: Jane Goodall, Famed Primatologist & Conservationist, Dies at 91

The scientist spent her life researching and educating others about chimpanzees and the natural world.

Jane Goodall, Famed Primatologist and Conservationist, Dies at 91

Pic: Getty Images

Jane Goodall, the famed primatologist, anthropologist and conservationist, has died, according to the institute she founded. She was 91 years old.

Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a speaking tour of the United States, the institute said in a statement on social media on Wednesday.

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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.

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 could make and use their own tools.

Pic: Getty Images

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 and altruistic."

That discovery is considered one of the great achievements of 20th-century scholarship, according to the Jane Goodall Institute.

Goodall's love of animals began practically at birth, she told ABC News. As a child growing up in London and Bournemouth, she dreamed of traveling to Africa and living among the wildlife. When she was 10, she read the books "Doctor Dolittle" and "Tarzan," and the inspiration changed the trajectory of her life.

The initial arrival into Tanzania's Gombe National Park proved to be challenging. The terrain was steep and mountainous, the forests were thick, and threats from buffalo and leopards lurked in the wilderness. But her lifelong ambition had finally been realized, and Goodall knew she was where she was meant to be.

Goodall was the recipient of several honors throughout her life. In 1995, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for "services to zoology" and promoted to Dame Commander in 2003. Goodall's other honors included the French Legion of Honor, Japan's Kyoto Prize and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Source: ABC NEWS