What Jane Goodall said in her last video message before her death by Angeline Jane Bernabe

JANE GOODALL’S FINAL INTERVIEW. Recorded on September 23, 2025 (eight days before her death on October 1, 2025) for the Wallstreet Journal’s “Journal Podcast,” and published online by the Wall Street Journal on September 26, 2025.

Jane Goodall’s final message before her death was one for youth.

The famed primatologist, ethologist and conservationist, who was known for her groundbreaking work with wild chimpanzees in Tanzania, died Wednesday from natural causes, according to a statement from the Jane Goodall Institute shared on social media. She was 91.

Goodall was in California at the time of her death and was scheduled to speak in Pasadena to 1,000 students from Altadena, Pacific Palisades and dozens of Los Angeles schools.

At the event, Erin McCombs of the Jane Goodall Institute took the stage and announced the news of Goodall’s death. A video message Goodall had recorded ahead of the event was then played, in which Goodall shared her thoughts on the environment and youth empowerment.

“I’ve been working on trying to make this a better world for animals, people, and the environment, flat out, since 1986, and one of my greatest reasons for hope in this battered world is the youth,” she began. “I think bringing together a lot of young people, who are, truly, have leadership material so they can exchange ideas and in some cases boost each other’s morale — cause sometimes it’s really tough, really difficult — so a gathering like this, I think, is a very important way ahead.”