A new report has indicated the apparent cause of death of noted primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall.
Goodall passed away on Oct. 1 at the age of 91 at the home of a friend while on a speaking tour in the United States. The Jane Goodall Institute announced the news of her death in a statement.
“The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute has passed away due to natural causes,” they said.
“She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States. Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world.”
The Jane Goodall Institute said Goodall died of natural causes, and now we have an official reason, via a report from TMZ.
Goodall’s cause of death is listed as cardiopulmonary arrest, or cardiac arrest. Epilepsy was also noted on the death certificate, though it’s unclear if that contributed to her death in any way.
Photo by CBS via Getty Images
A legend in the field of science
Goodall devoted her life to the study of primates, particularly chimpanzees, becoming one of the world’s foremost experts on these animals
A noted conservationist, Goodall spent more than six decades studying the social and family structures of chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports and various conservation and development programs throughout Africa.
Goodall, who received her PhD in ethology, the study of animal behavior, from University of Cambridge in 1965, published 32 books and was the subject of over 40 films throughout her career.
She was widely recognized for her work, winning several awards, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal.
