Today, we lost a real one. Jane Goodall transitioned at the age of 91, having spent a lifetime studying chimpanzees. She conducted the world’s longest study of Chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania. She discovered their ability to use tools, hunt for meat, and exhibit complex social behaviors that were once thought to be unique to humans. She also popularized ideas about the similarities between humans and animals, that we engage in similar social behaviors as primates.
Even if you don’t know that much about Jane Goodall, you know that she believed monkeys were awesome, and that’s a cause each and every one of us can get behind. Monkeys, apes, chimpanzees: these animals are all different, but they’re the closest family we’ve got now that Neanderthals’ are extinct, so we’ve got to stick together. If you love monkeys and want to celebrate them in honor of Jane Goodall’s life, this meme list is a good place to start.