Conservationist and chimpanzee expert Dame Jane Goodall dies aged 91

British conservationist and chimpanzee expert Dame Jane Goodall has died aged 91, The Jane Goodall Institute said.

The primatologist, who was the world’s leading expert on chimpanzee behaviour and defender of the creature’s habitat, was in California when she died from “natural causes”.

A statement shared to Facebook said: “The Jane Goodall Institute learned this morning, Wednesday 1 October 2025, that Dr Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away from natural causes.

“She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.

“Dr Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist transformed science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of the natural world.”

Maria Shriver, the former first lady of California, called Dame Jane “a legendary figure and a friend” in a post to X on Wednesday.

She added: “I admired her, learned from her, and was so honoured to get to spend time with her over the years.

“She stayed at her mission and on her mission. She changed the world and the lives of everyone she impacted. The world lost one of its best today, and I lost someone I adored.”

Greenpeace, a global campaigning organisation dedicated to the environment, remembered Dame Jane as a “tireless advocate” who inspired “millions”.

The British primatologist took to the Greenpeace stage at Glastonbury Festival last year and spoke about the planet, loss of biodiversity and climate change in a speech where she also acknowledged that young people are “losing hope”.

In a statement to the PA news agency, Greenpeace’s co-executive director in the UK, Will McCallum, said: “We’re heartbroken to learn that Dr Jane Goodall has passed away. She was one of the true conservation giants of our time.

“We were lucky enough to host her at the Greenpeace Glastonbury field last year, where she charmed the audience with her vast knowledge of our primate cousins’ lives.

“Not only did her pioneering research transform our understanding of chimpanzees and their habitat, but she became a tireless advocate for the protection of wildlife and forests, inspiring millions to act.

“Dr Goodall’s legacy is not only in science but in the global movement she helped spark to protect nature and give hope for a better world.

“It’s now incumbent upon all of us to honour her legacy by continuing the fight to protect the world’s forests.”

Naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham lauded the conservationist’s work as “revolutionary” and said Dame Jane “was up against it” when she began her career.

He told BBC News: “To have lost a hero at a time when we need all of them on the front line fighting for the future of life on Earth, it is a tragedy.”

Former Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, former US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and jailed Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes are among the other public figures who have paid tribute.

Born in London in 1934, Dame Jane began researching free-living chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960.

She arrived at Gombe Stream National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in July of that year, a time when it was unheard of for a woman to venture into the wilds of Africa.

It was there she observed a chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs and use it to fish termites from a nest, a ground-breaking observation that challenged the definition of humans as the single species capable of making tools.

Her research on chimpanzees was the longest field study ever undertaken of any group of animals in the wild and in 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect the species and supports youth projects aimed at benefiting animals and the environment.

She was also awarded a damehood in 2004, and was invested by the then-Prince of Wales, now King, at Buckingham Palace.

The primatologist said, however, that her most prized distinction was becoming the UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.

One of her more recent accolades was the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to her in January 2025 by then-US president Joe Biden.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said in a social media post: “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 and our planet. I’m grateful for her lifelong environmental protection efforts & her strong support for the @UN.”

Dame Jane also founded her Roots and Shoots global leadership programme to inspire young people to change their communities, environment and local wildlife for the better.

Established in 1991 with just 12 Tanzanian high school students, the initiative involves young people in more than 60 countries.

She was due to speak at a sold out event at Royce Hall, a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), on Friday October 3.

Dame Jane held events in Detroit, Michigan, and Austin, Texas, in September, and was also due to visit Washington next week.