Legendary and trailblazing wildlife conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall’s passing was announced today at the age of 91. Goodall, who passed away in her sleep while in Los Angeles for her speaking tour, according to the Jane Goodall Institute.
Dr. Goodall’s pioneering fieldwork at Gombe Stream National Park transformed primatology and reshaped how the world thinks about animals, empathy, and conservation. She spent decades documenting chimpanzee behavior, founding the Jane Goodall Institute and the youth program Roots & Shoots, and inspiring generations to act for the planet.
Where to Watch Dr. Jane Goodall’s Work
She leaves behind a huge scientific and humanitarian legacy that has extended to pop culture. In 2019, she appeared as herself in an episode of The Simpsons (Gorillas on the Mast). Her mission and decades of work inspired the Apple TV+ series, Jane. The children’s series follows a young girl named Jane Garcia, who is a budding environmentalist and animal lover. Garcia uses her imagination and scientific curiosity to protect endangered species and help the planet. The series encourages kids to think critically about conservation and empathy toward animals.
In 2017, the National Geographic biographical documentary Jane (streaming on Disney+/Hulu), achieved critical acclaim. With more than 100 hours of archival footage, filmmaker Brett Morgen built a stunning visual and intimate look at Dr. Jane Goodall’s early life.
You can honor her legacy and watch many titles featuring Dr. Jane Goodall across various streaming platforms, including these highlights:
- Prime Video is streaming Good Shepherds and Wild Daze
- Disney+ has hours of NatGeo content, including Jane Goodall: The Hope and Chimpanzee (2010)
- Jane’s Journey (2010) is streaming on Tubi
- Jane Goodall’s Return to Gombe (2004) can be viewed for free on Plex
- Rescued Chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall is available to watch on Fubo, DIRECTV, Curiosity Stream, Tubi, Roku Channel
This is by no means a complete guide to all of Dr. Goodall’s work, but you can find many documentaries on Curiosity Stream. Watching her films is a way to honor that work and to inspire action in our own communities. Her scientific curiosity and gentle insistence on compassion left a practical roadmap for education, hope, and will forever be remembered as a global voice for conservation.
“Jane Goodall’s pioneering contribution to the field of primatology was that she studied her subjects as individuals and captured through vivid writing individual personalities and individual differences. It was something that hadn’t really been done before, and she made a major and lasting contribution in that work. She also described the emotions of chimpanzees in vivid ways that brought their lives to the forefront for the general public, and it was a major lifetime contribution,” said University of Pennsylvania Professor Emeritus of Psychology Dr. Robert Seyfarth in a statement.