AHEAD OF HER TIME

From changing ideas about how humanity perceives its closest cousins to pioneering innovative ways of research, Goodall was a trailblazer

- By RAJAT GHAI

DAME JANE Goodall, who many decades ago set standards in the disciplines of primatology and animal behaviour with her groundbreaking study of chimpanzees using tools in Gombe, Tanzania, passed away on October 1, 2025. She was 91.

Goodall, who was on a tour of the US, died of natural causes while in California. Over six decades, she came to be regarded as one of the most influential scientists and conservationists of her time, inspiring generations of researchers and campaigners alike.

Her landmark discovery in the 1960s that chimpanzees use tools shattered long-held assumptions about the uniqueness of human culture. She went on to dedicate her life not only to scientific inquiry but also to advocacy, urging the world to reexamine humanity's relationship with nature.