Mourning the death of Dame Jane Goodall
Born Free is deeply saddened by the news that Dame Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, and joins the world in mourning her loss.
Peter Egan, Dame Jane Goodall and Dame Virginia McKenna at the Animal Hero Awards in 2018
A legendary primatologist, globally celebrated for her ground-breaking work with chimpanzees, Jane devoted her life to the protection of the apes she loved and the natural world.
Dr Jane Goodall with the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Virginia McKenna at the Animal Hero Awards 2018 (c) PA Media
Born Free was honoured to work side by side with Jane over many decades, including the Ape Odyssey event in London, together with Sir David Attenborough, and the Remembering Great Apes photography book, which raised funds for ape conservation and for which she provided the foreword.
In 2018, Dame Virginia McKenna presented Jane with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Animal Heroes Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel, in London. We were all in awe of her passion and tireless devotion to protecting the wild.
“Gentle, determined, courageous, serene – Jane Goodall has lived an extraordinary life,” said Ian Redmond OBE, Born Free’s Policy Advisor and great ape expert, who was friends with Jane for 40 years. “Her death at 91 seems premature, so youthful was her energy; having travelled the world for decades, inspiring audiences from schoolkids to Heads of State, from California to Africa to Japan. What a loss.
Jane Goodall and Ian Redmond at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo 2009, in San Francisco, USA. Photo by kind permission of Tyler Shaw
“Much is being written about Jane’s legacy – scientific and humanitarian – but I will equally remember her for the mischievous twinkle in her eye and her ability to hold an audience in the palm of her hand, inspiring every one of us lucky enough to be in the room to do better, in our daily lives, for our community, for animals and for the planet. Thank you Jane.”
A global expert on chimpanzees, who started studying their behaviour at Gombe National Park in Tanzania in her 20s – for which she was awarded a doctorate, it was Jane who first recorded chimpanzee tool use, and defied scientific convention by naming the chimps she had learned to love.
She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 and, strong and uncompromising to the very end, devoted the rest of her life to chimpanzee conservation and well-being, and raising awareness to their plight. She inspired millions around the world and fought chimpanzee exploitation in zoos and medical research.
“Jane was a leader, nature’s champion, a fearless friend. We both fondly remember seeing her, with Sir David Attenborough and Peter Egan, at the Hope 4 Apes event at the Savoy, in London. Jane has carried the torch. We must pick it up and run with it towards a kinder, more compassionate future for all life on earth.” ~ Dame Virginia McKenna and Will Travers OBE
Jane, we were honoured to know you. We will miss your wisdom and vision, but you will continue to inspire us every day. Thank you for your remarkable passion for protecting the natural world. Rest peacefully, we will always be grateful for you, dear Jane.