Jane Goodall, known for her ground-breaking studies involving chimpanzees, has died aged 91.
A post on her institute’s Facebook page said she died on Wednesday morning from natural causes while in California as part of a speaking tour.
“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” said the post.
Image:
Jane Goodall with husband Hugo van lawick in 1974. Pic: AP
Goodall was widely considered the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees.
She began her research at 26, observing the primates in east Africa and revealing their capability to engage in complex social behaviours.
Goodall also gave chimps names instead of numbers, observed their distinct personalities, and incorporated family relationships and emotions into her work.
The London-born expert appeared in many National Geographic programmes and magazines, and laid a path for other female primatologists and conservationists, including Dian Fossey (portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in Gorillas In The Mist).
Later in her career, she shifted more towards climate advocacy after seeing animal habitats diminishing.
She was made a dame in 2003 and earlier this year was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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