What happens when patience meets curiosity in the forest? For Jane Goodall, it led to a new way of seeing animals, and in turn, ourselves. Her quiet hours with chimpanzees at Gombe Stream in Tanzania changed science. They also sparked a global movement for wildlife and human communities.
Goodall’s story began with a childhood dream and grew into decades of field research, books, and advocacy. She showed that chimpanzees make tools, form strong bonds, and feel emotions. Then she used that insight to build a conservation network that reaches classrooms, villages, and parliaments.
Jane Goodall died in her sleep age 91 on 1 October 2025. Her institute writes ‘Jane started this work. But the rest is up to us’. Jane believed in restoring natural habitats, not putting chimps in zoos or ‘wildlife parks.
Jane her team rescued Wounda from the illegal wildlife trade, then released her to her natural forest home (she’s thriving, with a daughter of her own). Just before going off to her new life, she gives a big hug to Jane, it’s the most heart-warming video you’ll ever see!
Jane Goodall’s Early Discoveries
In the early 1960s, a young English woman walked into the forests by Lake Tanganyika with a notebook and patience. Jane Goodall had no formal degree at the start. She had a sharp eye, a calm presence, and a lifelong love of animals. That mix helped her notice what others had missed.
From Childhood Dreams to African Adventures
Born in Hampstead (London), Goodall grew up in Bournemouth (her father was a racing driver, her mother a novelist) reading animal stories and watching birds in the garden. A toy chimp named Jubilee sat on her bed, a daily reminder of her dream. She worked as a secretary and waitress to save for a ticket to Africa. In 1957, she went to Kenya to visit a friend.
There she met the archaeologist Louis Leakey, who saw her promise. He felt that a fresh mind could reveal new insights into primate behaviour. Leakey sent Goodall to what became Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. She began observations in 1960, often alone, always patient. She learned to sit quietly and let the forest settle. Over time, the chimpanzees accepted her presence.
Revealing Chimpanzee Secrets
Goodall’s most famous finding came in 1960. A male chimp named David Greybeard used a twig to fish termites from a mound. He also stripped leaves to make the tool work better. Tool use had been seen as a human trait. This single act forced science to redraw a line many thought was fixed.
Her notes showed more. Chimpanzees hunted colobus monkeys, shared meat, and formed shifting alliances. Mothers taught their young, and infants clung to their carers with clear trust. She saw grief after losses, joy during play, and tender grooming that built bonds. She also recorded aggression, even lethal conflict between groups. Chimp behaviour was complex, with light and shadow.
These observations challenged old ideas. If chimpanzees make tools and show rich social lives, the gap between human and animal minds is smaller than many had claimed. Gombe became a landmark study site. Long-term records from the park still inform science on health, culture, and ecology.
Read our post on reasons to give to humane medical research (without using chimps or other creatures).
Jane’s Lasting Conservation Legacy
As logging and disease reached chimp habitat, Goodall changed course. By the late 1980s, she spent less time in the field and more on the road. She spoke in schools and halls, lifted local projects, and built teams that linked science with practical help.
Creating the Jane Goodall Institute
Jane Goodall Institute works worldwide on many projects including:
- Mandrill rehabilitation and release
- Stopping illegal wildlife trafficking and crime
- Restoring wildlife habitats
- Funding eco fuel stoves (to stop deforestation)
- Caring for rescued captive apes (not in zoos)
- Snare removal
- Agroforestry
- Sustainable coffee production
Founded in 1977, it grew from the need to protect chimps, and also support people living near the forests. It blends habitat protection with community-led work. In Tanzania and across Africa, JGI backs forest corridors, anti-poaching patrols, and health and education services.
You can donate anonymously with a Charities Aid Foundation account (for personal or business use) or list Jane Goodall Institute as your cause as easyfundraising (then anytime you buy things with listed companies, then donate a portion to the charity, at no cost to you).
Got unused shares? You can donate stock to help the organisation, alongside regular giving.
Inspiring Young People Through Roots & Shoots
Roots & Shoots is Jane’s worldwide network for youth, to look after the planet and animals. Teachers can download free educational resources, and youngsters can access the My Local Area hub to focus on actions in your community including for environmental mapping and rubbish charts, to know where to clear up areas that are impacting local wildlife.
Started in 1991 by a small group of students in Tanzania, the idea is to design projects for young people to help animals, the environment, and their communities. The programme spread to schools and youth clubs across the globe.
I hate hearing that ‘we’ve borrowed the Earth from our children’, because it’s a lie. We’ve not borrowed, we have been stealing. We’ve mad so many mistakes and it’s not the young people’s job to put it right. We have to work with them to fix it. We’re holding your hand, so that together we can make it better. Jane Goodall
Cheeky Chimp Ale!
When you’re next buying booze, considering Cheeky Chimp Ale, this brew from Fauna Brewing uses profits to help wild chimp welfare. Jane would raise a glass to you!
Why Jane Goodall’s Influence Continues
Goodall’s voice carries weight because it rests on evidence and empathy. She wrote engaging books, such as her field accounts and later reflections on hope and ethics. She travels for much of the year, delivers talks, and meets leaders and students. As a UN Messenger of Peace since 2002, she ties animal welfare to human rights, health, and education.
Her work shows that science and storytelling can move people. She points to local success, like forest gains when communities lead, and links it to global goals on climate and biodiversity. The message is sober and hopeful at once. We cannot repair everything, but we can protect what remains and restore more than we think.
Lessons from Goodall for a Better World
Goodall’s approach rests on a few clear lessons:
- Patience: Sit long enough, and nature reveals its patterns.
- Empathy: Respect animals as individuals with needs and emotions.
- Community first: Support people, and forests gain allies.
- Evidence: Let data guide action, from field notes to satellite maps.
- Hope and action: Hope is a spark, action keeps the fire alive.
Wise Wisdom from Jane Goodall
The least I can do is speak out for chimpanzees who sit hunched, miserable and without hope, staring out with dead eyes from their metal prisons. They cannot speak for themselves.
My mission is to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature. And can I do that alone? No. So there is a whole army of youth that can do it. So I suppose my mission is to reach as many of those young people as I can, through my own efforts.
The biggest problem we have as environmental activists, is to fight the power of money.
I don’t have any idea of who or what God is. But I do believe in some great spiritual power. I feel it particularly, when I’m out in nature. It’s just something that’s bigger and stronger than what I am, or what anybody is. I feel it. And it’s enough for me.
