Jane Goodall Photo: Screenshot from the Jane Goodall Institute's website

Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace and world-renowned ethologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, has died at the age of 91 from natural causes, according to a release published on the Jane Goodall Institute's website. “She passed away in her sleep,” reads the release. 

“Today, the UN family mourns the loss of Dr. Jane Goodall. The scientist, conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace worked tirelessly for our planet and all its inhabitants, leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and nature,” UN wrote via its official account on the social media platform X on Thursday.

“I'm deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Jane Goodall, our dear Messenger of Peace. She is leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity & our planet. I'm grateful for her lifelong environmental protection efforts & her strong support for the UN,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote via the social media platform X on Thursday.

"Dr Jane Goodall was able to share the fruits of her research with everyone, especially the youngest, and to change our view of great apes," UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay told AFP, according to an AFP report.

Goodall is one of the most influential people of 2019, according to the Time magazine.

Jane Goodall kisses Tess, a female chimpanzee, at the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary near Nanyuki, north of Nairobi, on December 6, 1997. Photo: VCG

Goodall was known around the world for her 65-year study of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, according to the release published on the Jane Goodall Institute's website. 

One of Goodall's final public appearances was at the 2025 Forbes Sustainability Summit on September 22, where she was joined by her constant companion, Mr. H, according to the People.

Mr. H is a worn stuffed monkey that has been with Goodall on almost every interview and public outing since the pair first met in 1996. She and her self-described "mascot" traveled to more than 65 countries together, spreading awareness about the importance of protecting the planet and all of its inhabitants, the People reported.

Goodall first came to China to give a speech in 1998. A year later, the Roots and Shoots offices were established in Beijing and Shanghai simultaneously. Since then, Goodall has almost visited China every autumn and winter to promote environmental events, according to China News Service (CNS).

Chinese wildlife expert Lü Zhi has also received encouragement from Goodall. In 1992, Lü had a meeting with Goodall. Lü said that she started reading her books when she was 14, and when she met her, Lü was both surprised and delighted, according to the CNS report.

Goodall’s connection with China has lasted many years. In 2017, she wrote an article praising the Chinese government's efforts in improving the environment, titled “World Environment Day: China Works Toward a Brighter Future.”

In 2018, she appeared on CCTV's program "Readers," according to the CNS report.

Born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall, Goodall was the eldest daughter of businessman and racing car driver Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall and writer Margaret Myfanwe Joseph, said the release. Goodall was passionate about wildlife from early childhood, and she read avidly about the natural world. Her dream was to travel to Africa, learn more about animals, and write books about them, according to the release. 

Jane Goodall File photo: IC photo

According to the release, having worked as a waitress to save enough money for a sea passage to Kenya, Goodall was advised to try to meet paleontologist Louis Leakey. Leakey employed her as a secretary at the National Museum in Nairobi, and this led to her being offered the opportunity to spend time with Louis and Mary Leakey in at the Olduvai Gorge in search of fossils, said the release.

Louis Leakey asked her to travel to Tanzania, to study families of wild chimpanzees in the forest of Gombe. Looking back, Goodall always said she’d have “studied any animal” but felt extremely lucky to have been given the chance to study man’s closest living relative in the wild, according to the release.

On July 14, 1960, Jane arrived in Gombe for the first time. It was here that she developed her unique understanding of chimpanzee behavior and made the ground-breaking discovery that chimpanzees use tools, said the release. 

According to Time magazine on Thursday, chimps, she discovered, mirror humans in other, decidedly less benign ways. But Goodall discovered a gentle side to chimpanzees too. They play, they tickle, they kiss, they grieve, according to the magazine.

Global Times