Jane Goodall: A Legacy of Hope

After his death in 2020 at the age of 98, renowned comedian, and author, Carl Reiner, left one final, funny message on his twitter account: “Nothing ever ends…And I’m writing this as a ghost. Actually, I died way too soon. At 98. Seize every day everyone!”

Legendary animal rights activist, conservationist, and ethologist (animal behavior scientist), Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, and she too has somehow left us “way too soon”. I read her excellent book, “Reason For Hope, A Spiritual Journey”, over 20 years ago, and like millions of others, I have loosely followed her work ever since. Jane Goodall was perhaps best known for her groundbreaking study of chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park, where she discovered that chimpanzees use tools, and have complex social and emotional lives. As per the Jane Goodall Institute, “Dr. Jane Goodall, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace, and world-renowned ethologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, has died at the age of 91 of natural causes. Dr. Jane was known around the world for her 65-year study of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania. However, in the latter part of her life she expanded her focus and became a global advocate for human rights, animal welfare, species and environmental protection, and many other crucial issues. Jane was passionate about empowering young people to become involved in conservation and humanitarian projects and she led many educational initiatives focused on both wild and captive chimpanzees. She was always guided by her fascination with the mysteries of evolution, and her staunch belief in the fundamental need to respect all forms of life on Earth.”

Images: Jane Goodall Institute

Like so many, I loved Jane Goodall. Here is a heart warming clip that you may have already seen of Wounda, a severely emaciated chimpanzee who was nearly dead when she was brought to the Jane Goodall Institute Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of the Congo (wow, say that 5 times fast). According to Ingrid Newkirk & Gene Stone, “In the Congo, the word wounda means “close to dying.” Wounda was the name given to a severely emaciated chimpanzee brought to the Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of the Congo. Wounda’s parents had been killed by poachers. Left to fend for herself, she had succumbed to disease before rescuers spotted her. As Goodall later said, “When I saw the photographs of Wounda…I didn’t see how she could possibly have lived.” After being given the first-ever chimp-to-chimp blood transfusion in Africa, Wounda received a liter of milk every morning as she slowly regained weight. It took two years of dedication from JGI staff to rehabilitate her, all while caring for dozens of other chimpanzees rescued from similar circumstances.”
Can you believe that there are still some people who question whether non-human animals can love?
Click here for the video of Jane Goodall receiving a hug from Wounda.
Click here to learn more from Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker.

Illustration: @illustrationsbyVictoria

“When I stopped eating meat I immediately felt better, lighter…It’s becoming more and more clear that the obsession with eating meat and dairy products and eggs is totally destroying the environment. It’s creating methane, it’s wasting water, and it’s bad for our health.” – Jane Goodall

“Farm animals are far more aware and intelligent than we ever imagined and, despite having been bred as domestic slaves, they are individual beings in their own right. As such, they deserve our respect. And our help. Who will plead for them if we are silent? Thousands of people who say they ‘love’ animals sit down once or twice a day to enjoy the flesh of creatures who have been treated with so little respect and kindness, just to make more meat.” – Jane Goodall

Ms. Goodall’s humility and openness to change, was one of the many reasons why she inspired so many others around the world. After decades of being a vegetarian, Jane Goodall finally went vegan in 2015, at the age of 81! According to AARP, She had been vegetarian for a long time, but eventually gave up animal products entirely to do more for the planet, and farm animals. Unsurprisingly, most major publications, like The National Geographic, failed to mention her love for farm animals, and her advocacy for Plant-Based diets.
Click here to learn more from AARP.
Click here to learn more about Jane Goodall’s vegan cookbook.
Click here for the disappointing piece from the National Geographic.

Here are some memorable tributes on the death of Jane Goodall:

Image: Sea Change Project

“Dr Jane Goodall has left her body but her spirit stays with the Earth for she fought so hard. Unsurprisingly, she passed away while working – her gruelling schedule of talks and appearances around the world where she felt the urgency to spread her message. Yet even in the midst of her crazy schedule, she found the time and generosity to help anyone who reached out and asked for it, like when we asked her to voice Mother Nature for a campaign we did. She stayed up late into the night to record her voice on her own computer. Craig and Jane’s friendship was founded on a deep love for our planet and a reverence for all living beings. There will never be another like her, and we are so grateful for her life and the gifts she brought to the world. Paying tribute to Jane late last night, Craig wrote: ‘In the W-shaped eye of the cuttlefish, I see you. In the clicking of the bull eland’s tendon, I hear you. In the smell of petrichor, it’s you. My heart aches for you, Jane, but my spirit knows you are right here, for if there ever was a human who is the voice of Mother Nature, it’s you – my hero, my friend, my inspiration. The Earth doesn’t make people like you anymore, with superhuman strength to work at full pace till 91, driven by your insatiable love of our great Mother, and the deepest empathy for all of creation. What a life you led. You make us proud to be the human animal. I love you.’ She is now a spirit of the forests she fought for, a whisper in the wind for anyone who needs the courage, the energy and the will to stand for the biosphere. A great elder and ancestor who will guide our path. She said: ‘I’m about to leave the world with all the mess, whereas young people have to grow up in it. If they succumb to the doom and gloom, that’s the end. If you don’t hope, you sink into apathy; hope is a crucial way to get through this.’ She gave us a ‘Reason for Hope’ and we will remember her in all that we do Our deepest condolences to her family and everyone who loved her.” – Sea Change Project
Click here to learn more from the Sea Change Project.

“Dr. Jane Goodall chose compassion over violence decades ago when she realized the life behind the food on her plate. Her choice is a reminder that we all have the power to stop suffering – simply by what we put on our plates. Go vegan like Dr. Goodall did. For the animals.” – Animal Save Movement

Image: Hugo Van Lawick

“I knew Jane for many years, and last year when I was in prison in Greenland, she sent me three letters, very nice letters, and was verbally very, very supportive of my situation, and helped tremendously towards my release. But I’ve known her for about 30 years, I suppose. I also knew Baruti Geldikos quite well, and Louis Leakey had sent three women out into the wilderness, really, Baruti to work with orangutans, and Diane Fossey to work with mountain gorillas, and Jane to Tanzania to work with the chimpanzees. And what those three women had in common was an incredible amount of passion, a lot of courage, and a lot of imagination. Those are the three virtues that I have always said are the three virtues that changed the world. You know, they were not professional primatologists when they got involved, but they had a love for that work, which turned out to make them the foremost primatologists in the world, all three of them. Jane’s contribution over the years has been tremendous. Not only from what she taught us about chimpanzees, but also, but what she taught us about human beings and our relationship with the natural world. So, she was a, you know, a vegetarian. She was an environmentalist, a conservationist, and a scientist, and all three things, and a very rare and exceptional individual. And so it’s certainly a loss to lose her. I mean, she was an incredible educator for most of her life, and she passed away at 91. And she passed away well on a speaking tour. She never retired. And, you know, she was very steadfast in the pursuit of what she believed in, which is that we have to learn to live together in this world with all these other species. You know, we have to live within the laws of ecology, the law of diversity, the law of interdependence, and the law of finite resources. She understood that, and she certainly did everything she could to educate people as to the importance of ecological realities.” – Paul Watson
Click here to learn more from the Captain Paul Watson Foundation Podcast: Talking with Paul Watson about Dr. Jane Goodall.

“A Legacy that Lives: When Jane once said, “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make,” she spoke not just of personal choices but of global purpose. Her life was her answer. Though she has passed from this world, the world remains better for her presence. Her discoveries will continue to guide science; her activism will inspire new generations; her ethic of reverence for life will echo in the actions of countless individuals and organisations. To our Advisory Committee, to our supporters, to the many communities and conservationists she shaped, we mourn her passing, we celebrate her life, and we recommit to the vision she dedicated her life to. Rest in power, Dr. Jane Goodall. Your footsteps stretch far beyond your time.” – Akashinga
Click here to learn more from Akashinga.

Zoos & Conservation Parks

Image: In Defense of Animals

I have mixed feelings on zoos. In a perfect world, all animals should be free and protected. Our reality is much different however, considering the shortcomings of our species. Zoos can protect those who are endangered, and educate children, but they can also be prisons that cause immense suffering and psychological damage to animals. Also, if your favorite zoo sells animal products like cheeseburgers, fried chicken, and ice cream in its restaurants and concession stands, then it is truly not committed to protecting animals and our only planet (let alone your personal health). Here is what Ms. Goodall had to say on the subject of zoos: “I’m always being asked again and again, “Jane, what do you think of zoos?” Groups who believe all zoos should be closed clearly have not spent the time I have out in the wild. They haven’t seen the threats destroying chimpanzee habitat; they don’t understand what it’s like to watch a chimp struggle, wounded and lame from a wire snare. But I do. I remember sitting with a group of chimps in an American zoo once. They had a really nice enclosure and I was watching the adults groom each other and the young ones play. As I watched, I remember thinking of the chimpanzee groups I had seen in the wild who are living day to day in fear. Put yourself in the position of chimpanzees for a minute. A chimp living in a zoo where people know them, love them, understand them and protect them or a chimp in the wild who may have lost their mother the week before, watching another member of the troop as they’re wounded by a bullet from a poacher. Which would you rather be? I’d rather be in the group in the zoo. And certainly in the group here at Monarto Zoo; now that’s a good life for a chimp.”
Click here to learn more.
Click here to learn more from In Defense of Animals.

Image: Hugo Van Lawick

“Jane Goodall transcribing field notes by lamplight in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park, circa 1960. Goodall never originally planned to go into science. Her passion was simply animals and observing them in the wild. When she began her fieldwork with chimpanzees in Gombe, her unconventional methods set her apart: she gave the chimps names like David Greybeard and Flo instead of numbers, and she described their personalities and relationships rather than treating them as identical data points. At the time, this was criticized by some scientists as “unscientific,” since the norm was to maintain strict detachment. Her mentor, Louis Leakey, however, saw the groundbreaking value of her observations and was so impressed that he petitioned Cambridge University to admit her directly into a PhD program, even though she didn’t have a bachelor’s degree. Though she had not intended to pursue science formally, the criticisms she faced pushed her toward the doctorate, which gave her the credibility to defend her work. In the end, her approach revolutionized primatology, reshaping how the scientific world understands animals as individuals with emotions, personalities, and complex social lives.” – History Cook Kids

“The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.” – Jane Goodall

Illustrations by @illustrationsbyvictoria

Women are the True Warriors

There are many wonderful exceptions, but overall, I believe that women are stronger than men.
Click here to learn more from the United Nations.
Click here to learn more from National Geographic’s short film, Akashinga: The Brave Ones.

Image: Hugo Van Lawick

“When I was a little girl, I used to dream as a man, because I wanted to do things that women didn’t do back then such as traveling to Africa, living with wild animals and writing books,” said Dr. Jane Goodall. “I didn’t have any female explorers or scientists to look up to but I was inspired by Dr. Dolittle, Tarzan and Mowgli in The Jungle Book — all male characters. It was only my mother who supported my dream: ‘You’ll have to work hard, take advantage of opportunities and never give up,’ she’d tell me. I’ve shared that message with young people around the world, and so many have thanked me, and said, ‘You taught me that because you did it, I can do it too.” – Jane Goodall (2018)
Click here to learn more about how Being a woman was crucial to Jane Goodall’s success in a male-dominated field.

Illustrations by @illustrationsbyvictoria

“We have become caught up in a materialistic and greedy world, so many of us. This has dire consequences for the future. It seems that there has been some disconnect between the clever mind and the human heart, love and compassion. And instead of making a major decision based on, ‘How will this affect generations ahead? How will this affect the world in the future when we’re not here?’ The criteria today are, ‘How will this decision affect me now, me and my family now? How will it affect the next shareholders meeting? How will it affect my next political campaign?’” – Jane Goodall

Image credit: Unknown

“When one is considering the universe, it is important, sensible even, to try and find some balance between laughter and uncontrollable weeping.” – Ella Frances Sanders

Lastly, it seems that Jane Goodall enjoyed a good laugh too. Leave it to the great Gary Larson, to help us keep things in perspective (lest we begin to take ourselves too seriously). This cartoon still cracks me up, especially with the approving signature of Jane Goodall herself!

Image: Gary Larson & Jane Goodall