Dame Jane Goodall turned her childhood love of primates into a lifelong quest for protecting the environment. Photo: Supplied
New Zealanders have remembered scientist and global activist Dame Jane Goodall as a hero, a pioneer and an incredible human being.
Goodall was a world-renowned conservationist, primatologist and ethnologist, but also a UN Messenger of Peace.
She was perhaps best known for her ground breaking study in the 1960s on the chimpanzees of the Gombe, in Tanzania, which altered forever the accepted definition of humanity.
In a social media post the Jane Goodall Institute said that she had died aged 91 of natural causes.
Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki told Afternoons Goodall was a hero to many in New Zealand and around the world.
Toki first had an opportunity to meet Goodall in 2017.
"I wish I could tell you that I behaved with dignity and grace and, you know, and took the opportunity to tell her everything I ever wanted to tell her when I first met her. But I didn't, I completely lost it," she said. "I blurted out 'I love you', and gave her a cuddle and ran away."
Toki said she had another opportunity to meet Goodall last year and interview her on stage.
She said she told Goodall the story of how they had met behind the scenes before they went up on stage.
"She laughed and she said [...] people always do that. She said, they either do that or they cry," Toki said. "And I went, yeah, I think I might have done that too."
In a post on social media HUHANZ described Goodall as an "incredible human".
"To the animal world, and to those of us who fight every day to ensure animals are seen as the intelligent, sentient beings they are, Jane was our pioneer. She spoke about animal rights with unwavering clarity and resolve ... no hesitation, no rest ... just powerful, thoughtful, inspiring words, every day of her life," the post said.
"During her visit to HUHA, we learned of her great love for donkeys. She lit up as she gently whispered into Wee One's ear. She laughed at Reggie, kissed Budgie, and sat with our ex-circus monkeys - reassuring us that the home we built for them, with trees, bugs, space and love, was enough."
Auckland Zoo thanked Goodall for her contribution.
"Jane was a pioneer in primate ethology and conservation science, expanding our knowledge of chimpanzee behaviour, while fostering a love of wildlife in so many. She advocated so passionately and relentlessly for our natural world and how we can all live in better harmony with animals and the environment," it said in a social media post.
"We reflect fondly on her visit to Auckland Zoo in 2014, part of a year-long speaking tour for her 80th birthday, where she was able to see native species like tuatara and wētāpunga up close, both part of conservation breed-for-release programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand.
"Jane frequently articulated the important role she believes good zoos, that reach wide audiences and provide the highest standards of care for their animals, play in conservation, research, education and nature connection."
RNZ's Nine to Noon presenter Kathryn Ryan spoke to Goodall when she was in the country in 2017 about her experience as a young woman in 1960 observing a community of chimpanzees in what is now known as Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.
Goodall said each day she would be up in the mountains alone.
"I've always loved being alone and being alone is very different from being lonely - and being alone out in the rainforest, you're not alone, you're surrounded by life forms where everything is interconnected," she said.
"In the rare moments when you are completely in tune with the natural world, you are part of it and no longer are you a human sitting there, you're part of the natural world."
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