Farewell to the mother of primates

Jane Goodall (1934-2025) was an English primatologist and anthropologist. Regarded as a pioneer in primate ethology and described by many publications as 'the world's preeminent chimpanzee expert', she was best known for more than six decades of field research on the social and family life of wild chimpanzees in the Kasakela

- -MOHUL BHATTACHARYA -

chimpanzee community at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.

Goodall was to nature, wildlife, and human relationships with nature a messenger. She was an advocate for conservation, a sustainable relationship with the natural world, and most importantly, empathy towards the planet. In a polarising planet of taking more than we can consume, Jane was a beacon of hope. She was the UN messenger of peace. She established the Jane Goodall Institute. On 14 July 1960, Jane arrived in Gombe for the first time. It was here that she developed her unique understanding of chimpanzee behaviour and made the groundbreaking discovery that chimpanzees use tools; an observation that has been credited with 'redefining what it means to be human.'