Conservationist Jane Goodall Transformed the Study of Chimpanzees

Jane Goodall was only 26-years-old when she first went to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Although she has no formal scientific training, her field study findings would forever change how chimpanzees and other primates were studied and understood.

She dedicated her life to promote conservation, raise awareness about threats to wildlife globally, and to inspire a more sustainable relationship between people and the natural world, according to a press release from The Jane Goodall Institute that was founded in 1977 and now has 25 chapters around the world.

Born in London England on April 3, 1934, Goodall  passed away on October 1, 2025. She was 91-years-old. She remained active until just days before her death. Her legacy of research and advocacy will live on.

The Longest Running Wild Chimpanzee Study
The six-month field study to observe the chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream National Park began in July 1960, reported the Smithsonian Magazine. While researchers understood that humans and chimps were closely related, they had no knowledge about the behavior of primates in the wild.

The first three months were difficult without making any meaningful scientific observations or being able to approach the chimps. But Goodall finally managed to gain the trust of a male with silver hair that she named David Greybeard. In November 1960 she made an observation that would forever change the way the animals were understood.

David Greybeard bent a twig, stripped off its leaves, and used it as a tool to scoop out termites in a nest. The ability to use tools was what scientists believed set humans apart from animals. According to Goodall, when she told her mentor archaeologist Louis Leakey, he responded, “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as human.”

Her other discoveries during her decades of work in documenting chimpanzee behavior in Tanzania found that humans are not the only animals to have sophisticated emotions, manipulate objects, and to raise war. The study has been ongoing for more than 60 years.

Becoming a Conservation Activist
Goodall’s career trajectory changed after the “Understanding Chimpanzees” conference in Chicago in 1986. Although she helped organize it, the sessions she attended showed her the devastating effects of deforestation of habitats and the inhumane conditions chimpanzees faced in medical research.

She told Living on Earth’s Steve Curwood in an interview in 2020 that she had no idea the extent of the dangers the great apes faced. “I went as a scientist,” Goodall said. “I left as an activist.”

Her conservation efforts started years earlier when she founded the Jane Goodall Institute which devotes a large portion of its efforts to wildlife conservation and to continue the field research in Gombe Stream National Park, according to the press release.

But Goodall understood that if you really want to change the world, you must get youth involved. That’s why she started the Roots & Shoots program in 1991, now active in 75 countries,  to empower young people to become  future conservation leaders.

Goodall was a scientist, activist, mentor, author, and speaker. She was a UN Messenger of Peace as well as named a Dame Commander of the British Empire. In January 2025 She was awarded the medal of freedom from former president Joe Biden for her contributions to science and her advocacy for the planet.