Anyone who intends to offer a master class on how to change the world for better, without falling into negativity, cynicism, anger or narrowness of sights in the process, could be inspired by the life and work of Jane Goodall, pioneer in animal behavior.
Goodall’s vital trajectory covers from marveling at unbelieving creatures – although she would never call them that way – in her English backyard, being an open -eyed girl in the 1930s, until challenging the definition of what it means to be human through her research on chimpanzees in Tanzania. From there, it became a world icon and the United Nations Peace Messenger.
Until his death on October 1, 2025 at age 91, Goodall retained an open mentality, an optimism and a look of astonishment of children. I know because I have been lucky to spend time with her and share the reflections of my own scientific career. For the public, he was a world -renowned scientist and icon. For me, she was Jane, my inspiring mentor and friend.
Despite the enormous changes that Goodall imposed in the world of science, revolutionizing the study of animal behavior, she was always cheerful, encouraging and inspiring. I consider it a friendly and disruptive person. One of their greatest gifts was their ability to make everyone at any age, they felt they have the power to change the world.
Discovering the use of tools in animals
In their pioneer studies in the lush rainforest jungle of the Gombe Stream hunting reserve in Tanzania, now the National Park, Goodall observed that the most successful chimpanzee leaders were friendly, affectionate and family. The males who tried to govern by affirming their domain through violence, tyranny and threat did not last.
I am also a primatologist, and Goodall’s innovative observations about the chimpanzees in Gombe were part of my preliminary studies. They are famous for their recording of how the chimpanzees took long pieces of grass and inserted them into termites to “fish” insects to eat, something that no one had observed before. It was the first time that an animal was seen using a tool, a discovery that changed the way scientists differentiated humanity from the rest of the animal kingdom.
The renowned anthropologist Louis Leakey chose Goodall for this work precisely because he did not have academic training. When he arrived at Leakey’s office in Tanzania in 1957, at 23, Leakey initially hired her as her secretary, but soon detected her potential and encouraged her to study the chimpanzees. Leakey was looking for someone with a completely open mind, something that, according to him, most scientists lost throughout their academic training.
Since chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of humans, Leakey hoped that understanding animals would provide information about the first humans. In a predominantly masculine field, I also believed that a woman would be more patient and insightful than a male observer. And he was not wrong.
Six months later, when Goodall wrote its observations on the use of tools by chimpanzees, Leakey wrote: “Now we must redefine the tool, redefine man or accept chimpanzees as humans.”
Goodall talked about animals with emotions and cultures, and in the case of chimpanzees, almost tribal communities. He also appointed the chimpanzees who observed, an unheard of exare at the time, who won the ridiculous of the scientists who traditionally numbered their research subjects.
One of his most notable observations was known as the Gombe Chimpanzees War. It was a four -year conflict in which eight adult males from one community killed the six males of another, seizing their territory, only to lose it to another larger community with even more males.
Read more: the Jane Goodall Institute announces the death of the legendary zoologist at 91
Confidence on your way
Goodall was persuasive, powerful and determined, I often advised not to give in to criticism. His path to revolutionary discoveries did not imply trampling people or separating competition with elbows.
Rather, his trip to Africa was motivated by his astonishment, his love for animals and an overflowing imagination. As a child, she was fascinated with the story of Edgar Rice Burroughs of 1912, “Tarzan de los Monos”, and loved to joke saying that Tarzan had married the wrong Jane.
When I was 23 years old, I was a former NFL former, without scientific training at that time, and I saw Goodall’s work, I imagined that I could also be like her. In large part thanks to her, I became a primatologist, I codescubé a new species of lemur in Madagascar and I have had an incredible life and career, both in science and on television, as an explorer of National Geographic. When it was time to write my own story, I asked Goodall to contribute to the introduction. Wrote:
“Mireya Mayor reminds me a little of myself. Like me, I loved being with the animals as a child. And like me, he pursued his dream until he came true.”
Narrator and teacher
Goodall was an incredible narrator and considered it the most effective way to help people understand the true nature of animals. With captivating images, he shared extraordinary stories about the intelligence of animals, from apes and dolphins to rats and birds, and, of course, octopus. I was inspired to become a wild life correspondent for National Geographic to be able to share the stories and difficulties of endangered animals worldwide.
Goodall inspired and advised world leaders, celebrities, scientists and conservationists. It also influenced the lives of millions of children.
Through the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to involve people from all over the world in conservation, Roots & Shoots launched, a global youth program that operates in more than 60 countries. The program teaches children about connections between people, animals and the environment, and ways to collaborate locally to help all three.
In addition to the warmth, friendship and wonderful stories of Goodall, this comment treasure yours: “The greatest danger to our future is our apathy. Each of us must assume responsibility for their own life and, above all, to show respect and love for the living beings that surround us, especially for others.”
It is a radical idea of a unique scientist.
*Maleya Mayor He is director of Exploration and Scientific Communication, International University of Florida
This text was originally published in The Conversation
