Karen Fifield: Wellington Zoo CEO on the death of Jane Goodall

Conservationist Dame Jane Goodall, who was credited with revolutionising the world's understanding of chimpanzees, has died at the age of 91.

She died of natural causes while on on a speaking tour in California.

In her later life, Goodall was almost always travelling the world, delivering speeches about the importance of protecting the environment.

Wellington Zoo CEO Karen Fifield says her research transformed the way we view animals - and revealed how we can make their lives easier and better.

"I had the honour and privilege of actually interviewing her last year, when she was in Wellington... it was actually one of the honours of my life, I must say, to share the stage with someone as wonderful as Jane."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, primate expert and environmentalist Jane Goodle has died at
the age of ninety one. She was a pioneer and
primate research and science who redefined how we understand chimpanzees.
Karen Fifield is the CEO of Wellington Zoo and with
us now, Hey.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Karen, Cira, Heather, how are you.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
I'm very well, thank you? Do you reckon that her
research has been instrumental in changing the way that we
understand the chimps.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
I think her research was definitely part of changing the
way we see chimps and all animals really around sentience
and around what animals think and feel and how we
can actually make their lives better and be part of
that journey towards better science.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, did you ever see her speaking?

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yes, I've known Jane since nineteen ninety eight and a
few times she's been to Wellington Zoo as well, and
so I had the honor and privilege of actually interviewing
her last year and when she was in Wellington at
the Opera House, and it was actually one of the
honors of my life, I must say, to share the
stage with someone as wonderful as Jane, and we had

(01:05):
a lovely chat to a packed audience in Wellington and
you could just see people just honoring this amazing woman
who had done so much for people, animals and the planet.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
So totally different fields, but someone has compared her work
to Einstein's in terms of how importance it is important
it is? What do you think?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Well, I mean it was groundbreaking and she was a
true trailblazer and she was brave and bold and did
things that people said she could never do and she
went and did it. And she you know, she's the
first to say she said, I just did it. And
she was just incredibly brave out in the wilds of
Africa with her mother doing this work with chimpanzees, and

(01:50):
obviously Lewis Leakey having that trust in her to send
her out to do this work was incredible as well.
But it was groundbreaking. The fact that we understood was
she understood first of all, that chimpanzees used tools, did
many things that humans do, and we know that chimpanzees
grieve and have expressions of love and all of those

(02:10):
things that we have as well. And that really came
from Jane opening our eyes to what was happening with
chimpanzees in the wild.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
Hey, it's really good to talk to you, Karen. Thank
you so much for your time. That's Karen Fifield, Wellington
Zoo CEO. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
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