Maybe it was fate in her surname that Jane Goodall would spend a good majority of her life observing and studying chimpanzees in their natural habitat totally changing what was believing of the species. Her work became synonymous with people who embed themselves so closely with animals or a certain demographic.
Goodall passed away on Oct. 1 at the age of 91 reportedly of natural causes. She was the oldest of what was dubbed “The Trimates” along with Dian Fossey and Birute Gladikis. Goodall studied and observed chimps in Tanzania while Fossey focused on gorillas in Rwanda. Gladikas would focus on orangutans.
But overall, Goodall was an activist of all wildlife conservation as both an anthropologist and primatologist. Before he left office, President Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her popularity turned to controversy when cartoonist Gary Larson published a cartoon in his Far Side series referring to her as a tramp. While people with the Jane Goodall Institute were angry, Goodall, herself, found it amusing calling it her favorite reference in pop culture and media.
Larson would later donate profits of said comic to her institute. But when he visited her research facility in Tanzania, Larson was attacked by a chimp named Frodo. So, I guess they got the last laugh.
Hopefully more and more people are continuing her legacy. Goodall proved that chimps were highly intelligent animals who used tools for hunting. She also reported they had social structures which was only thought to exist in humans.
Rest in peace, Ms. Goodall!
Zane Says 