The President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, has sent her condolences following the death of Dr. Jane Goodall, a renowned zoologist and researcher.
In a statement shared today, October 2, 2025, President Samia said:
“With deep sorrow, I have received the news of the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall, a distinguished animal expert, researcher, and friend of Tanzania. Dr. Goodall’s remarkable work at Gombe National Park transformed wildlife conservation and placed our nation at the heart of international efforts to protect chimpanzees and nature. Her legacy will live on. May she rest in peace.”
Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most respected conservationists, who gained global recognition for documenting the distinctive behavior of wild chimpanzees in East Africa’s Gombe National Park — including their ability to make and use tools, eat meat, perform rain dances, and engage in organized warfare — passed away on Wednesday in Los Angeles at the age of 91.
Her death was confirmed by the Jane Goodall Institute, headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The British-born scientist was 29 years old in the summer of 1963 when the National Geographic Society, which had been financially supporting her research in Gombe (now in Tanzania), published her 7,500-word, 37-page account of the lives of Flo, David Greybeard, Fifi, and other members of the chimpanzee community.
She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, which grew to become one of the largest international nonprofit research and conservation organizations, with offices in the United States and 34 other countries. Her Roots & Shoots program, launched in 1991, educates young people about conservation in more than 120 countries.
In honor of her work, Tanzania designated the Gombe Stream Reserve as a national park in 1978. In 2002, the United Nations named Dr. Goodall a Messenger of Peace, the UN’s highest honor for global citizenship.
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