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(Los Angeles, CA) – Legendary primatologist and wildlife researcher Jane Goodall has died. She was 91 years old. The Jane Goodall Institute announced her passing on social media, noting she was in Los Angeles for a speaking event.
Reports say Goodall died of natural causes. She achieved fame and gained plenty of fans in the 1960s when she traveled to observe chimpanzees in the natural environment. The hope was she would be able to learn things about primate behavior — and how it connected to the earliest days of human beings.
Goodall notably observed chimps using tools — something that scientific researchers thought was unique to humans, among primates. But after seeing a chimpanzee using a long stick to fish ants out of soil — which were then eaten as a snack — she noted that primates clearly use tools as well.
