TRANSCRIPT:
In Los Angeles, organisers of an environmental event were preparing to host Jane Goodall, the renowned chimpanzee expert turned global activist, who was to come and speak to students and plant trees on her speaking tour of the US.
Instead, the basecamp coordinator of the Roots and Shoots event, Erin McCombs, had to make a sad announcement.
"I have a message to share on behalf of the Jane Goodall Institute. The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning... that Doctor Jane Goodall, DBE, U.N messenger of peace and the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away due to natural causes."
Ms Goodall first came to prominence in the 1960s.
Her quest was to better chimpanzees, as well as the role that humans play in safeguarding their habitat and the planet's health overall.
She became a pioneer in her field, upending scientific norms of the time by giving chimpanzees names instead of numbers, observing their distinct personalities and incorporating their family relationships and emotions into her work.
Dr Goodall also drew the public into the wild, partnering with the National Geographic Society to bring her beloved chimps into their lives through film, TV and magazines.
She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 to sustain the study and protection of chimpanzees while also improving the welfare of scores of local communities.
But as her career evolved, Dr Goodall shifted her focus from primatology to climate advocacy after witnessing widespread habitat devastation, urging the world to take quick and urgent action on climate change.
“It's more important than ever in the world we live in today that we have a vision of what it would be like to live in a peaceful world, the kind of world we all want, and then see what we as individuals can do to try and bring that about."
Dr Goodall spoke last year about using her fame to spread that message for as long as possible.
“There's a Jane out there which doesn't feel like me. It's, it's like - it's the Jane that's become an icon. National Geographic built up her picture and Discovery Channel, and you know, and all the rest of the media hype, hype, hype so that I can't go to an airport now... I struggle to keep up with her. But, I, it's obviously, you know, I sort of feel I was born with a mission. And to accomplish that mission, what's happened with this icon is clearly very, very helpful."
Environmentalist Chris Packham has told Sky News that Dr Goodall was a remarkable woman, and that he was not surprised she was in the middle of a speaking tour on the environment when she died.
"She's used her voice calmly and in a dedicated fashion to speak up for life on earth against all of the threats that it now faces. And in many ways, you know, Jane has just died on the job, the job that her life became."
Back in Los Angeles, council member Rick Cole has also paid tribute.
"Carry this message you just heard in your heart through your whole life. We will stand together for a moment of silence in tribute to a world leader, to an extraordinarily generous, gentle and wise human being. And we will plant these trees so they'll carry on her legacy."
