An extraordinary legacy
The United Nations said it mourned the loss of Dr Goodall, saying that she “worked tirelessly for our planet and all its inhabitants, leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and nature”.
Greenpeace said it was “heartbroken” by her death, calling her “one of the true conservation giants of our time”.
Its co-executive director in the UK, Will McCallum, said: “Dr Goodall’s legacy is not only in science but in the global movement she helped spark to protect nature and give hope for a better world.”
Naturalist Chris Packham told the BBC that he counted her among his heroes, calling her “revolutionary” and “remarkable”.
“To have lost a hero at a time when we need all of them on the frontline fighting for life on earth is a tragedy.”
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Her Jane Goodall Institute, founded in 1977, works to protect chimpanzees and supports projects aimed at benefiting animals and the environment.
Dr Goodall was appointed a Dame in 2003 and received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025.
January 2025 to be exact – received it from Biden.
I went to a talk of hers once, years ago, when I was volunteering at the zoo. I had campaigned hard to work in the gorilla unit. She was of course a hero to everyone who worked with the Great Apes, and I tagged along with them to her talk.
H/t Acolyte of Sagan
Her legacy is indeed extraordinary. For me as a beginning ecologist, she was the face of Ecology. Over time, of course, I learned about a great many others, but she was the first one I knew.
I’ve been fascinated by her work for decades; you were very fortunate to see her lecture. I was also interested that a woman born less than a fortnight after my mother could have had such a very different life. Mum has always seemed ambivalent about Jane Goodall; not sure whether to admire her achievements or to be shocked at her risk-taking. Perhaps she was worried for me, seeing as I admired Goodall so much, but as it turned out, I’ve always been far too timid to do anything so daring.
The world is the poorer without Jane Goodall.
I was very fortunate. I’ve had a lot of random lucky breaks of that kind – like getting to be an elephant keeper for a couple of years even though I wasn’t actually a keeper at all. I was given a sort of magical temporary promotion because, I guess, none of the actual keepers wanted to transfer.
On checking, I see that I must add Jane Goodall to the list of people I share a birthday with: Marlon Brando, Doris Day and (ugh) Nigel Farage.
Trivia aside, I agree with what has been said. Jane Goodall was one of the greats, and it’s a major loss.