Weeks after Jane Goodall suddenly passed away at the age of 91, the famed animal advocate’s cause of death has been revealed.
Videos by Suggest
According to the death certificate that TMZ obtained, Goodall died from cardiopulmonary arrest. Her death has been considered natural.
Goodall had previously been diagnosed with epilepsy, the death certificate revealed. However, it’s unclear if that played a factor in her death.
Goodall passed away on Oct. 1 in California while she was on a speaking tour in the U.S. The Jane Goodall Institute announced the 91-year-old’s death in a statement.
“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science,” the statement reads. “And she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world.”
The animal advocate was the world’s first female expert on primates, beginning her work at age 26. She founded her self-titled institution in 1977, where she developed a new approach to conservation upon realizing that chimps were threatened by habitat destruction and illegal trafficking.
Jane Goodall Reflected on the World She Was Leaving Behind Before Her Death
According to Netflix, one of Jane Goodall’s final conversations was about how she felt she was leaving the world.
“In the place where I am now, I look back over my life. I look back at the world I’ve left behind,” she explained. “What message do I want to leave? I want to make sure that you all understand that each and every one of you has a role to play. You may not know it, you may not find it, but your life matters, and you are here for a reason.”
She further shared, “And I just hope that reason will become apparent as you live through your life. I want you to know that, whether or not you find that role that you’re supposed to play, your life does matter, and that every single day you live, you make a difference in the world. And you get to choose the difference that you make.”
Elsewhere in her speech, Goodall spoke about the importance of Mother Nature.
“We depend on Mother Nature for clean air, for water, for food, for clothing, for everything,” she said. “And as we destroy one ecosystem after another, as we create worse climate change, worse loss of diversity, we have to do everything in our power to make the world a better place for the children alive today, and for those that will follow.”
Jane went on to share that the future of the planet depends on those currently on it. “Do your best while you’re still on this beautiful Planet Earth that I look down upon from where I am now,” she added. “God bless you all.”