The Jane Goodall Institute announced today that Dr. Goodall passed away due to natural causes while on a speaking tour in California. She was 91 years old.

There is a direct line from Dr. Jane Goodall to every acre of rainforest Junglekeepers protects today. And it begins with a single act of generosity.

When our founder Paul Rosolie was writing his first book, Mother of God, chronicling his experiences in the Amazon and his growing determination to protect it, he reached out to Dr. Goodall with hope that she would read it. She said yes.

Her following endorsement, from the world's most respected voice in conservation and animal behavior, gave Paul's work credibility, opened doors, and ultimately made it possible to build what would become Junglekeepers. Without Jane Goodall's belief in a young naturalist's vision, there would be no ranger program patrolling the Las Piedras. No protected corridor for the uncontacted tribes. No partnership with Indigenous communities. No 120,000 acres, and counting, of standing forest.

It's impossible to overstate what Dr. Goodall meant to our work—and to all of us who dedicate our lives to protecting the Amazon and its peoples. Her revolutionary discoveries in the 1960s, showing that chimpanzees make and use tools and possess complex social structures, fundamentally changed how humanity views our relationship with the natural world.

But her impact went far beyond scientific discovery. Dr. Goodall taught the world that conservation is not just about protecting animals—it's about respecting the interconnectedness of all life, including the Indigenous communities who have been the forest's guardians for millennia.

Dr. Goodall once said that humans' unique ability to communicate verbally gives us a unique responsibility to preserve the planet. At Junglekeepers, we accept that responsibility.

Every acre we protect, 120,000 so far with 50,000 more in our sights, is a tribute to her vision. Every ranger we train carries forward her courage. Every partnership we build with Indigenous communities honors her respect for traditional knowledge. Every uncontacted trail we document and protect from illegal loggers continues the work she started.

You taught us to look into the eyes of a chimpanzee and see a person. To sit patiently in the forest and let it reveal its secrets. To name individuals rather than number them. To believe that one person with conviction can change the world.

You believed in Paul when it mattered most. You opened the door. You made Junglekeepers possible.

Because of you, Junglekeepers exists.

Because of you, the Amazon has defenders.

Because of you, we know that hope is a choice we make every single day.

Rest in peace, Dr. Goodall. Your discoveries revolutionized science, and you were a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world. We will carry your torch into the forest you taught us to love.

-- Junglekeepers family