Dr. Jane Goodall, renowned ethologist and lifelong advocate for the natural world, has passed away at the age of 91.
Known for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania, her legacy goes far beyond science. She redefined how we view animals, understanding them as sentient beings with emotions and personalities.
Though born in London, Jane spent her early childhood in Bournemouth during the Second World War, living with her mother and grandmother.
When I interviewed her in July 2023, she spoke fondly of West Cliff and her Dorset roots. ‘Dorset is always home,’ she said.
Her path to Africa began early. ‘When I was ten, I dreamed of going to Africa, living with animals and writing books about them,’ she told me.
With little money but her mother’s unwavering support, a series of chance opportunities allowed her to follow that dream – eventually meeting the paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey in Kenya. He recognised that her lack of formal scientific training might actually be a strength: she could observe without preconception.
At Gombe, Dr. Goodall spent decades observing chimpanzees in their natural habitat, making discoveries that shook the scientific world – such as the revelation that chimps use tools. She famously defied tradition by naming the chimpanzees she studied, showing them as individuals with distinct personalities and emotions.
Dr Goodall took delicious delight in answering our Random 19 questions – and while I’m sure she’s had many more intellectual interviews, I may be the first to discover her horror at biscuit dunking:
‘I HATE the very thought of dunking ANY kind of biscuit!’
I was told, rather firmly, that after 89 years on the planet she could not possibly pick out a single best evening. She then promptly began sharing a few memories of magical times: ‘Perhaps sitting out by the Platte river at sunset, listening to the sound of thousands of sandhill cranes as they fly in, formation after formation, to roost in the river.
‘There were many ordinary, special evenings with my mother, long ago (British authorities complained that a young woman should not be living alone in the jungle, so her mother Vanne accompanied her daughter as a chaperone for four months). We would sit round a little camp fire, lit by a hurricane lamp, almost always accompanied by Terry the Toad and sometimes a genet, who became tame. I would sit and just tell Mum about what I had seen during my day in the forest.
‘Closer to home, New Year’s Eve with my family in Bournemouth was always special, when all the lower rooms were lit by only candles, waiting for midnight.’
I learned that she loved to read on her kindle – books were cumbersome for a traveller – and Lord of the Rings was her constant companion on long flights: ‘I love it because it is a completely imaginary world – yet it’s so very real. The Dark Lord is a combination of Putin, Bolsonaro and Trump. The black riders and the orcs are the CEOs of the extractive industries, animal traffickers and so on. We need to hugely increase our Fellowship of the Ring, and we all have to be prepared to join the fight to save planet earth.’
Her love for animals was also evident when she spoke about her childhood dog Rusty, who sparked her belief that animals have personalities and emotions. ‘Rusty taught me that animals have personality, reasoning power and emotions,’ she said. She had a deep fondness of ‘walking the streets in the old parts of London, Paris, Vienna, New York etc – in the NON touristy parts!’ and found secondhand curiosity shops irresistable. The sound that made her happiest? Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on childhood summer evenings: ‘After I’d gone to bed, I’d hear my grandmother playing the Sonata on the piano downstairs, window wide open, and the smell of roses coming through my open bedroom window. I still think of it.’
When I asked how she would like to be remembered, she didn’t hesitate: ‘Two things, if that’s not greedy? The first is for helping to change attitudes about the true nature of animals – that they are sentient. They can feel emotions. They can feel pain. They are not just things.
The second is for starting the Jane Goodall Institute’s youth programme, Roots & Shoots. It’s now in 69 countries (and growing), and involves hundreds of thousands of young people from kindergarten to university. Even adults are joining in now – there are some 1,600 groups in the UK alone.’
Dr Jane Goodall leaves behind a legacy that continues to inspire millions to act, speak up, and protect the natural world – not just for the animals, but for ourselves.
You can read her full interview with me here: Dr. Jane Goodall Answers the Random 19 Questions.
