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6 Apr, 2026 05:00 PM2 mins to read

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Late one afternoon as she was checking on the zoo chimps her organisation had been feeding, Jane Goodall approached the cage of a dangerous and aggressive male. Disarming him with a language learned from her years of research, she offered her golden hair for him to touch. It was a simple moment that came to represent so much. Photo / Supplied

Friday, April 3, marked the 92nd birthday for Dame Jane Goodall, primatologist, anthropologist, and environmental campaigner, highly regarded for her pioneering work with chimpanzees in Tanzania. Sadly, she died six months ago from cardiac arrest while on a speaking tour in Los Angeles.

Jane Goodall in her home in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where she wrote 20-30 letters a day trying to further her goals of protecting chimps, their rights and habitat. Goodall used her "touch" to empower the individual into thinking that what they do can make a difference. The force of her personality made it impossible to say no. She learned from Flo (a high-ranking female chimp at Gombe) that paying attention to the individual gets results. Photo / SuppliedJane Goodall in her home in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where she wrote 20-30 letters a day trying to further her goals of protecting chimps, their rights and habitat. Goodall used her “touch” to empower the individual into thinking that what they do can make a difference. The force of her personality made it impossible to say no. She learned from Flo (a high-ranking female chimp at Gombe) that paying attention to the individual gets results. Photo / Supplied

In celebration of her tireless activism for
the natural world, Vital Impacts, a nature-focused photographic project founded by National Geographic photographer Ami Vitali, has released a series of prints for sale. The Nature of Hope: The World Jane Goodall Inspired presents intimate portraits of Goodall by Michael “Nick” Nichols, shot for National Geographic, available from her birthday through Earth Month to Earth Day on April 22.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, formed a deep bond with La Vieille, an elderly chimpanzee who had survived years of hardship at the Pointe Noire Zoo in the Republic of the Congo. Jane advocated for her rescue, helped secure support for daily care, and later guided the creation of the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre, where La Vieille could finally live in safety. Photo / SuppliedIn the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, formed a deep bond with La Vieille, an elderly chimpanzee who had survived years of hardship at the Pointe Noire Zoo in the Republic of the Congo. Jane advocated for her rescue, helped secure support for daily care, and later guided the creation of the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre, where La Vieille could finally live in safety. Photo / Supplied