Jane Goodall dies at 91 as DiCaprio honors her and urges donations

Legendary primatologist Jane Goodall died Wednesday in California at age 91, the Jane Goodall Institute said, and actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio paid tribute to the scientist as a "true hero for the planet" while urging support for her conservation work. The institute said Goodall, who was in the United States on a speaking tour, died of natural causes.

DiCaprio posted a message and photos of the two on social media, calling Goodall "an inspiration to millions, and a dear friend." He praised her pioneering research on chimpanzees in Tanzania and her decades of advocacy for wildlife and ecosystems, writing that her work "transformed our understanding of how our closest relatives live, socialize, and think" and reminding followers that humans are connected to other life on Earth. He added, "You are my hero. Now, we all must carry the torch for her in protecting our one shared home," and encouraged donations to the Jane Goodall Institute and other conservation groups she supported.

Goodall rose to prominence with more than six decades of field research that reshaped scientific views of animal behavior, tool use, and social life among great apes. Her long-term study in...