Birutė Galdikas

Biruté Marija Filomena Galdikas, OC Ph.D. (born May 10 1946 (1946-05-10) (age 66), Wiesbaden, Germany), is a primatologist, conservationist, ethologist, and author of several books relating to the endangered species orangutan. Well known in the field of modern primatology, Galdikas is recognized as an authority on orangutans.^[1]

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Early life and education

Galdikas was born in Germany to Lithuanian parents. She later became a naturalized Canadian and grew up in Toronto, Canada.

In college she studied psychology and biology. In 1966, Galdikas earned her bachelor's degrees in psychology and zoology from the University of British Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles, her master's degree in anthropology from UCLA in 1969 and her doctorate in anthropology, also from UCLA, in 1978. It was there, as a graduate student, she first met famed Kenyan paleontologist Louis Leakey and expressed her desire to study orangutans in their natural habitats.

Leakey's Angels

Determined to study and understand the world of the elusive 'red ape', Galdikas convinced Leakey to help orchestrate her endeavor, despite his initial reservations. Orangutans comprise an exceedingly intelligent great ape genus native to Malaysia and Indonesia, who have long arms and reddish, sometimes brown, hair.

In 1971, Galdikas and her then husband, photographer Rod Brindamour, arrived in one of the world's few remaining wild places, Tanjung Puting Reserve, in Indonesian Borneo. Galdikas thus become the third of a trio of women hand-picked by Leakey to study mankind's nearest relatives, the other great apes, in their natural habitat. Known as 'Leakey's Angels', the other two were Jane Goodall, who studied chimpanzees, and Dian Fossey, who became a martyr in her quest to study and protect mountain gorillas.

Leakey and the National Geographic Society helped Galdikas initially set up her research camp to conduct field study on orangutans in Borneo.^[1] Before Leakey's fortuitous decision to anoint Galdikas as the third of his 'Angels', the orangutan was much less well understood than the African great apes. Galdikas went on to further burnish Leakey's legacy by greatly expanding scientific knowledge of orangutan behavior, habitat and diet.

Research and advocacy

At 25, Galdikas arrived in Borneo to begin her field studies of orangutans in a jungle environment extremely inhospitable to most Westerners. Galdikas proceeded to make many invaluable contributions to the scientific understanding of Indonesia's biodiversity and the rainforest as a whole, while also bringing the orangutan to the attention of the rest of the world.

When she arrived in Borneo, Galdikas settled into a primitive bark and thatch hut, at a site she dubbed 'Camp Leakey', near the edge of the Java Sea.^[1] Once there, she encountered numerous poachers, legions of leeches, and swarms of carnivorous insects.^[1] Yet she persevered through many travails, remaining there for over 30 years while becoming an outspoken advocate for orangutans and the preservation of their rainforest habitat, which is rapidly being devastated by loggers, gold miners, and unnatural conflagrations.

Galdikas' conservation efforts have extended well beyond advocacy, largely focusing on rehabilitation of the many orphaned orangutans turned over to her for care. Many of these orphans were once pets, before becoming too smart and difficult for their owners to handle.^[1] Galdikas' rehabilitation efforts have become the center of several controversies for Galdikas and the Orangutan Foundation. The effectiveness of her rehabilitation efforts spawned widespread debate in the late 1990s, due in part to articles and books about Galdikas by Canadian Linda Spalding. It was suggested that wild orangutan populations might be harmed as a result of the manner in which rehabilitation was being conducted at the Camp Leakey field station.

An ongoing legacy

While campaigning actively on behalf of primate conservation, Galdikas continues her field research, among the lengthiest continuous studies of a mammal ever conducted. Her husband, Pak Bohap, is a Dayak rice farmer, tribal president, and co-director of the orangutan program in Borneo. She has also written several books, including a memoir, written long after her fellow 'Angels' published theirs, entitled Reflections of Eden. In it, Galdikas describes her experiences at Camp Leakey and efforts to rehabilitate ex-captive orangutans and release them into the Borneo rainforest.

Dr. Galdikas is currently a professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, and 'Professor Extraordinaire' at Indonesia's Universitas Nasional in Jakarta. She is also president of the Orangutan Foundation International in Los Angeles, California.

Recognition

Galdikas has been featured in Life, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, numerous television documentaries, and twice on the cover of National Geographic^[1].

Galdikas, along with fellow 'Angel' Jane Goodall, and preeminent field biologist George Schaller, became recipients of Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement laureates in 1997 for their groundbreaking field research and lifetime contributions to the advancement of environmental science.

Other honors bestowed upon Galdikas include the 'PETA Humanitarian Award (1990), the 'Eddie Bauer Hero of the Earth' (1991), the 'Sierra Club Chico Mendes Award' (1992), and the 'United Nations Global 500 Award' in 1993.

In 1995, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

See also

• Jeffrey H. Schwartz
• List of apes

References

Further reading

• Spalding, Linda. (1999). A Dark Place in the Jungle: Following Leakey's Last Angel into Borneo. Algonquin Books: New York. ISBN 1565122267