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{{Short description|Lithuanian-Canadian primatologist, conservationist (born 1946)}}
{{Cleanup|date=October 2009}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Birutė
Mary Galdikas
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of Canada|OC]]
| image = Dr Birute Galdikas.jpg
| caption = Galdikas in 2011
| birth_name = Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1946|5|10}}
| birth_place = [[Wiesbaden]], [[Allied-occupied Germany|Germany]]
| alma_mater = [[University of California, Los Angeles]]
| known_for = Study of orangutans, conservation
| prizes = [[Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement]] (1997)
| fields = [[Primatology]], [[anthropology]], [[ethology]]
| workplaces = [[Simon Fraser University]]
| thesis_title = Orangutan adaptation at Tanjung Puting Reserve, Central Borneo
| thesis_url = http://catalog.library.ucla.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1491859
| thesis_year = 1978
| patrons =
| children = Binti Paul Galdikas Brindamour (born 1976) <br /> Fred Bohap (born 1982) <br /> Jane Bohap (born 1985)
}}


'''Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas''', [[Order of Canada|OC]] [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] (born {{Birth date|1946|5|10}}), 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 a leading authority on orangutans.<ref name="NGS1075">{{Cite news
'''Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas''' or '''Birutė Mary Galdikas''', [[Order of Canada|OC]] (born 10 May 1946), is a Lithuanian-Canadian<ref name="OFI">{{Cite web|url=https://orangutan.org/about/dr-birute-mary-galdikas/|title=Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas – Dr. Galdikas Biography|publisher=Orangutan Foundation International|access-date=9 April 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> [[anthropologist]], [[primatologist]], [[conservation movement|conservationist]], [[ethologist]], and author. She is a professor at [[Simon Fraser University]]. In the field of primatology, Galdikas is recognized as a leading authority on [[orangutan]]s.<ref name="NGS1075">{{cite news | last = Galdikas-Brindamour | first = Birutė |date=October 1975 | title = Orangutans, Indonesia's "People of the Forest" | periodical = [[National Geographic Magazine]] | volume = 148 | issue = 4 | pages = 444–473 }}</ref> Prior to her field study of orangutans, scientists knew little about the species.<ref name="NYT 1.29.95">{{cite news | last = de Waal | first = Frans |date=January 1995 | title = The Loneliest of Apes | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/29/books/the-loneliest-of-apes.html | periodical = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref>
| last = Galdikas-Brindamour
| first = Birutė
| year = 1975
| month = October
| title = Orangutans, Indonesia's "People of the Forest"
| periodical = [[National Geographic Magazine]]
| volume = 148
| issue = 4
| pages = 444–473 }}</ref>


== Early life and education ==
==Early life==
Galdikas was born on 10 May 1946 in [[Wiesbaden]], [[West Germany]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/greatlivesfromhi0002unse_n5y6/page/n27/mode/2up?q=netherlands+cancer+institute|title=Scientists and Science|publisher=Salem Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-58765-970-6|editor-last=Spradley|editor-first=Joseph L.|series=Great Lives From History|volume=2|location=Ipswich, Massachusetts|pages=339–342|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Her parents, Antanas and Filomena Galdikas, were [[Lithuanians|Lithuanian]] refugees fleeing the [[Occupation of the Baltic states|Soviet occupation of the Baltic states]] following [[World War II]]. When Galdikas was two years old, the family moved to [[Canada]] in 1948,<ref name=":0" /> when her father signed a contract to work in copper mining in [[Quebec]]. The following year, they relocated to [[Toronto]], where Galdikas grew up. Her father worked as a miner and a contractor. As a young child, Birutė's head was filled with visions of far-off forests and exotic creatures. The first book she borrowed from the [[Toronto Public Library]] was a tale about a monkey named [[Curious George]]. When she grew older, she was inspired by the ''[[National Geographic]]'' adventures of [[Jane Goodall]] and [[Dian Fossey]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pfeiff|first=Margo|year=1993|title=Mother to the Apes|journal=Reader's Digest|volume=143| issue = 855|pages=127–132}}</ref> She has two younger brothers and a younger sister.<ref name=scienceca>{{cite web |url= http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=7&pg=3 |title= Profile: Biruté Galdikas |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 2015 |website= www.science.ca |access-date= 14 August 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Gallardo|first= Evelyn |year=1993 |title= Among the Orangutans: The Birute Galdikas Story |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DOsIGAljuGsC&q=%22Birute+Galdikas%22+lithuanian&pg=PA8 |publisher= Chronicle Books |pages= 8–9|isbn= 0811804089 |access-date= 14 August 2015 }}</ref>
Galdikas was born in [[Wiesbaden]], [[Germany]] to [[Lithuania]]n parents. She later became a naturalized [[Canada|Canadian]] and grew up in [[Toronto]], [[Canada]].


== Education ==
In college she studied [[psychology]] and [[biology]]. In 1966, Galdikas earned her [[bachelor's degree]]s in [[psychology]] and [[zoology]], jointly awarded by 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<ref>http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=7&pg=3</ref>. It was there, as a [[graduate student]], she first met famed [[Kenya]]n [[paleontologist]] [[Louis Leakey]] and expressed her desire to study orangutans in their natural [[habitat (ecology)|habitats]].
In 1962, the Galdikas family moved to [[Vancouver]], where Galdikas met her future husband, Rod Brindamour. Two years later, after Galdikas had begun studies at the [[University of British Columbia]] (UBC), the family moved to the United States, where Galdikas enrolled in the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA), and studied [[psychology]] and [[zoology]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1966, she earned her [[bachelor's degree]]s in psychology and zoology, jointly awarded by UCLA and UBC. She married Brindamour and earned her master's degree in [[anthropology]] from UCLA both in 1969.<ref name=":0" />


During her graduate studies at UCLA, Galdikas met paleoanthropologist [[Louis Leakey]], and proposed a plan aimed at studying orangutans in their natural habitats.<ref name=":0" /> Galdikas convinced Leakey to help orchestrate her endeavour, despite his initial reservations. Leakey found funding from the [[National Geographic Society]] which agreed to establish a research facility in [[Borneo]].<ref name=scienceca/><ref>{{cite book |last= Gallardo|first= Evelyn |year=1993 |title= Among the Orangutans: The Birute Galdikas Story |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DOsIGAljuGsC&q=%22Birute+Galdikas%22+lithuanian&pg=PA8 |publisher= Chronicle Books |pages= 9–10|isbn= 0811804089 |access-date= 14 August 2015 }}</ref> Her research became the basis of her doctoral studies, and she earned her doctorate in anthropology from UCLA in 1978.<ref name=scienceca/>
== Leakey's Angels ==
Orangutans comprise an exceedingly intelligent great ape genus native to [[Malaysia]] and [[Indonesia]], who have long arms and reddish, sometimes brown, hair. Determined to study and understand the world of the elusive "red ape", Galdikas convinced Leakey to help orchestrate her endeavor, despite his initial reservations.


== Works ==
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 [[chimpanzee]]s, and [[Dian Fossey]], who became a martyr in her quest to study and protect [[mountain gorilla]]s.
=== Research in Borneo ===
In 1971, at age 25, Galdikas and her then-husband, photographer Rod Brindamour, arrived in [[Tanjung Puting]] Reserve, in [[Indonesian Borneo]]. Galdikas was the third of a trio of women appointed by Leakey to study [[great ape]]s in their natural habitat. Dubbed by Leakey "[[The Trimates]]"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/06/opinion/06galdikas.html |title=The Vanishing Man of the Forest |author=Galdikas, Birute Mary |work=The New York Times |date=6 January 2007 |access-date=14 December 2013}}</ref> the trio also included [[Jane Goodall]], who studied [[chimpanzee]]s, and [[Dian Fossey]], who studied [[gorilla]]s.<ref name="NYT 1.29.95"/> Leakey and the [[National Geographic Society]] helped Galdikas set up her research camp near the edge of the [[Java Sea]], dubbed "Camp Leakey", to conduct field study on orangutans in [[Borneo]].<ref name="NGS1075" /> Before Galdikas's studies, the orangutan was the least understood of the great [[ape]]s. Galdikas went on to greatly expand scientific knowledge of orangutan behaviour, habitat and diet.


=== Orangutan Foundation International ===
Leakey and the [[National Geographic Society]] helped Galdikas initially set up her research camp to conduct field study on orangutans in Borneo.<ref name="NGS1075" /> Before Leakey's fortuitous decision to anoint Galdikas as the third of his "Angels", the orangutan was much less 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 (nutrition)|diet]].


In 1986, Galdikas and her colleagues founded [[Orangutan Foundation International]] (OFI), based in Los Angeles, USA, to help support orangutans around the world. Her second husband, [[Pak Bohap]], who was a [[Dayak people|Dayak]] rice farmer and [[tribe|tribal]] president, assisted in setting up sister organisations in Australia, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom and is co-director of the orangutan program in Borneo.<ref name="OFI" />
== 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.


=== Advocacy and rehabilitation work ===
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]].<ref name="NGS1075" /> Once there, she encountered numerous [[poacher (fish)|poachers]], legions of [[leech]]es, and swarms of carnivorous insects.<ref name="NGS1075" /> 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 [[logging industry|logger]]s, [[palm oil]] plantations, [[gold miner]]s, and unnatural [[conflagration]]s.<ref name="palmoil">{{cite news | title=Palm oil frenzy threatens to wipe out orangutans |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090118/ap_on_re_as/as_orangutan_s_last_stand | author=Robin McDowell | publisher=Associated Press | date=2009-01-18 | accessdate=2009-01-18}}</ref>
Galdikas has remained in Borneo for over 40 years while becoming an outspoken [[advocacy|advocate]] for orangutans and the preservation of their rainforest habitat, which is rapidly being destroyed by [[logging industry|logger]]s, [[palm oil]] plantations, [[gold miner]]s, and unnatural [[conflagration]]s.<ref name="palmoil">{{cite news|title=Palm oil frenzy threatens to wipe out orangutans |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090118/ap_on_re_as/as_orangutan_s_last_stand |first=Robin |last=McDowell |agency=Associated Press |date=18 January 2009 |access-date=18 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120192430/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090118/ap_on_re_as/as_orangutan_s_last_stand |archive-date=20 January 2009 }}</ref> While campaigning actively on behalf of primate conservation and preservation of rainforest, Galdikas continues her field research, among the lengthiest continuous studies of a mammal ever conducted. {{citation needed|date=June 2024}}


Galdikas's [[Conservation ecology|conservation]] efforts have extended well beyond advocacy, largely focusing on [[rehabilitation (wildlife)|rehabilitation]] of the many orphaned orangutans turned over to her for care. Many of these orphans were once illegal pets, before becoming too smart and difficult for their owners to handle.<ref name="NGS1075" /> Galdikas's rehabilitation efforts through [[Orangutan Foundation International]] (OFI) also include the preservation of rainforest. Although one Canadian author in the late 1990s was critical of the rehabilitation methods, the ongoing birth of new orangutans among the formerly-rehabilitated adult orangutans at [[Camp Leakey]] is part of what makes it the longest continual study of a single species. The value of Dr. Galdikas's work has been acknowledged in television shows hosted by [[Steve Irwin]] as well as [[Jeff Corwin]] on [[Animal Planet]]. In addition, the importance of Dr. Galdikas's concern and work towards preserving Indonesian rain forest has been reinforced by the biofuel article of January 25, 2007, in ''[[The New York Times]]'' and the November 2008 article in ''[[National Geographic]]'' magazine, "Borneo's Moment of Truth." Galdikas's organization, O.F.I., is also involved in a reforestation project, planting native trees in previously destroyed areas of rain forest.
Galdikas's [[conservation biology|conservation]] efforts extend beyond advocacy, largely focusing on [[rehabilitation (wildlife)|rehabilitation]] of the orphaned orangutans turned over to her for care. Many of these orphans were once illegal pets, before becoming too smart and difficult for their owners to handle.<ref name="NGS1075" />


She has written several books, including a [[memoir]] 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.
== An ongoing legacy ==
While campaigning actively on behalf of primate conservation and preservation of rain forest, Galdikas continues her field research, among the lengthiest continuous studies of a [[mammal]] ever conducted. Her husband, [[Pak Bohap]], was a [[Dayak people|Dayak]] rice farmer, [[tribe|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 [[University of Indonesia|Universitas Nasional]] in [[Jakarta]], Indonesia. She is also president of the [[Orangutan Foundation International]] in [[Los Angeles, California]].
Galdikas is a professor at [[Simon Fraser University]] in Burnaby, British Columbia, and Professor Extraordinaire at [[University of Indonesia|Universitas Nasional]] in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is also president of the Orangutan Foundation International in Los Angeles, California.

In 2021 Dr. Birutė Galdikas became a patron of the nature conservation non-profit organisation the {{ill|Ancient Woods Foundation|lt|Sengirės fondas}}<ref>[https://sengiresfondas.lt/en/ Sengirės fondas]</ref> aiming to protect the remaining old-growth forests in Lithuania with all the biodiversity there.


== Recognition ==
== Recognition ==
Galdikas has been featured in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''The [[Washington Post]]'', ''The [[Los Angeles Times]]'', numerous television [[Documentary film|documentaries], and twice on the cover of ''[[National Geographic]]''.<ref name="NGS1075" />
Galdikas has been featured in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'', the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', numerous television [[Documentary film|documentaries]], and twice on the cover of ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]''.<ref name="NGS1075" /> Galdikas's work has been acknowledged in television shows hosted by [[Steve Irwin]] as well as [[Jeff Corwin]] on [[Animal Planet]].{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}


In 1995, Galdikas was made an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]].
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.


Along with fellow Trimate Jane Goodall and preeminent field biologist [[George Schaller]], Galdikas received the [[Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement]] in 1997 for her groundbreaking field research and lifetime contributions to the advancement of environmental science. Other honours include the Indonesia's Hero for the Earth Award (Kalpataru), Institute of Human Origins Science Award Officer, [[United Nations]] Global 500 Award (1993), Elizabeth II Commemorative Medal, the [[Eddie Bauer]] Hero of the Earth (1991), [[PETA]] Humanitarian Award (1990), and the [[Sierra Club]] [[Chico Mendes]] Award (1992). She was awarded a key to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2009 when she gave a presentation for the anthropology department at [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas|U.N.L.V.]]
Other honors bestowed upon Galdikas include the Indonesia’s Hero for the Earth Award (Kalpataru), Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Institute of Human Origins Science Award Officer, United Nations Global 500 Award in 1993 ,
Elizabeth II Commemorative Medal, the [[Eddie Bauer]] Hero of the Earth (1991), [[PETA]] Humanitarian Award (1990),and the [[Sierra Club]] [[Chico Mendes]] Award (1992).


== Media ==
In 1995, she was made an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]]. In addition, Dr. Gadlikas was awarded a key to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2009 when she came to give a presentation for the Anthropology Department at [[U.N.L.V.]]
=== Books ===
* ''Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo'' (1995)
* ''Orangutan Odyssey'' (1999)
* ''Great Ape Odyssey''. (2005). Abrams: New York. {{ISBN|978-1-4351-1009-0}}

=== Film and television ===
Galdikas stars in the feature documentary ''[[Born to Be Wild 3D]],'' released in April 2011. She has also appeared in the documentaries ''Nature'' (TV series documentary, 2005), ''Life and Times'' (TV series documentary, 1996), ''30 Years of National Geographic Specials'' (TV documentary, 1995), ''Orangutans: Grasping the Last Branch'' (documentary, 1989), ''Beauty and the beasts'' (Channel 4 UK documentary, 1996),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2199589/|title=Sex and the Scientists: Beauty and the Beasts|date=12 August 1996|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> ''The Last Trimate'' (TV documentary, 2008), and ''She Walks With Apes'' (CBC TV documentary, 2019).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/she-walks-with-apes| title = She Walks with Apes {{!}} Nature of Things}}</ref> ''Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest'' (documentary, C4, UK 1995)


== Controversy ==
== Controversy ==
Galdikas was criticised in the late 1990s regarding her methods of rehabilitation. Primatologists debated the issue on the Internet mailing list Primate-Talk<ref>http://www.slate.com/id/1637/</ref>; the issue was further fuelled by the publication of articles in [[Outside]] magazine (May 1998)<ref>http://outside.away.com/magazine/0598/index.html</ref> and [[Newsweek]] (June 1998)<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/id/92641</ref>. As reported in both articles and summarised in a book by a Canadian novelist, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry erroneously reported that Galdikas held "a very large number of illegal orangutans ... in very poor conditions" at her Indonesian home, prompting the government to consider formal charges<ref>http://www.slate.com/id/1637/</ref>. Galdikas denied all such claims in a response to Newsweek in June 1999, remarking that allegations of mistreatment were "simply, wrong" and that the "outlandish" claims formed the basis of "a totally one-sided campaign against me."<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/id/92926</ref>
Galdikas was criticised in the late 1990s regarding her methods of rehabilitation. Primatologists debated the issue on the Internet mailing list Primate-Talk;<ref name="slate.com">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/id/1637/ |title=News from academe: Monkey Business II |magazine=Slate |date=20 June 1998 |access-date=19 January 2014}}</ref> the issue was further fuelled by the publication of articles in [[Outside (magazine)|''Outside'' magazine]] (May 1998)<ref>[http://outsideonline.com/outside/magazine/0598/index.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926170923/http://outsideonline.com/outside/magazine/0598/index.html|date=26 September 2010}}</ref> and ''[[Newsweek]]'' (June 1998).<ref>{{cite news |title=A typhoon in a rain-forest Eden |last=Hammer |first=Joshua |work=Newsweek |date=1 June 1998 |issue=22 |volume=131 |page=58}}</ref> As reported in both articles and summarized in the 1999 book ''A Dark Place in the Jungle'' by Canadian novelist [[Linda Spalding]],<ref>{{cite book | title = A Dark Place in the Jungle: Science, Orangutans, and Human Nature
| first = Linda | last = Spalding | publisher = Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-1-56512-226-0}}</ref> the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry — with whom Galdikas had clashed over logging policies — claimed that Galdikas held "a very large number of illegal orangutans ... in very poor conditions" at her Indonesian home, prompting the government to consider formal charges.<ref name="slate.com"/> Galdikas denied all such claims in a response to ''Newsweek'' in June 1999, remarking that allegations of mistreatment were "simply, wrong" and that the "outlandish" claims formed the basis of "a totally one-sided campaign against me."<ref>{{cite news |last = Galdikas |first = Birute |title = Galdikas responds |work=[[Newsweek]] |volume = 131 |issue = 26 |date = 29 June 1998 |page = 17}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Galdikas, Dr. Birute Mary. (2005). ''Great Ape Odyssey''. Abrams: New York. ISBN 978-1-4351-1009-0


== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[Jeffrey H. Schwartz]]
* [[Jeffrey H. Schwartz]]
* [[InfiniteEARTH]]
* [[List of animal rights advocates]]
* [[List of apes]]
* [[List of apes]]
* [[Timeline of women in science]]


==External links==
== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
* [http://drbirute.com/ Dr. Galdikas' Official blog]

* [http://www.birutegaldikas.lt International Birute Galdikas charity fund]
== External links ==
* [http://www.orangutan.org/ Orangutan.org] - [[Orangutan Foundation International]]
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/152/ "Does an Orangutan find freedom in the gift of words? Do we?"] by [[Susanne Antonetta]] (March 2005)
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=7 Profile] at science.ca (April 20, 2004)
* [https://drbirute.wordpress.com/ Galdikas's official blog]
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/tylerprize/tyler1997.html Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement], awarded to Galdikas in 1997
* [http://orangutancanada.ca/ Orangutan Foundation Canada]
* {{twitter|drbirute}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090820212602/http://www.birutegaldikas.lt/ International Birute Galdikas charity fund]
* [https://orangutan.org/ Orangutan.org] - [[Orangutan Foundation International]]
* [http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/152/ "Does an Orangutan find freedom in the gift of words? Do we?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723030320/http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/152/ |date=23 July 2014 }} by [[Susanne Antonetta]] (March 2005)
* [http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=7 Profile] at science.ca (20 April 2004)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070808034758/http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/tylerprize/tyler1997.html Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement], awarded to Galdikas in 1997


{{Apes}}
{{Apes}}
{{ethology}}
{{portal bar|Primates|Biology}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Galdikas, Birute}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galdikas, Birute}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Primatologists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian women scientists]]
[[Category:Canadian environmentalists]]
[[Category:Canadian environmentalists]]
[[Category:Canadian anthropologists]]
[[Category:Canadian anthropologists]]
[[Category:Canadian women anthropologists]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Lithuanian descent]]
[[Category:Lithuanian anthropologists]]
[[Category:Lithuanian women anthropologists]]
[[Category:Ethologists]]
[[Category:Ethologists]]
[[Category:Lithuanian scientists]]
[[Category:Women primatologists]]
[[Category:Primatologists]]
[[Category:Orangutan conservation]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Women biologists]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Simon Fraser University]]
[[Category:Lithuanian Canadians]]
[[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]]
[[Category:People from Toronto]]
[[Category:Scientists from Toronto]]
[[Category:People from Wiesbaden]]
[[Category:People from Wiesbaden]]
[[Category:Simon Fraser University faculty]]
[[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]]
[[Category:German immigrants to Canada]]

[[de:Biruté Galdikas]]
[[es:Birutė Galdikas]]
[[fr:Biruté Galdikas]]
[[lt:Birutė Galdikas]]
[[nl:Biruté Galdikas]]
[[pl:Birute Galdikas]]
[[ta:பிருட்டே கால்டிகாசு]]
[[th:บิรูเต กัลดิกาส์]]

Latest revision as of 02:36, 29 June 2024

Birutė Mary Galdikas
OC
Galdikas in 2011
Born
Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas

(1946-05-10) 10 May 1946 (age 78)
Wiesbaden, Germany
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Known forStudy of orangutans, conservation
ChildrenBinti Paul Galdikas Brindamour (born 1976)
Fred Bohap (born 1982)
Jane Bohap (born 1985)
AwardsTyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (1997)
Scientific career
FieldsPrimatology, anthropology, ethology
InstitutionsSimon Fraser University
ThesisOrangutan adaptation at Tanjung Puting Reserve, Central Borneo (1978)

Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas or Birutė Mary Galdikas, OC (born 10 May 1946), is a Lithuanian-Canadian[1] anthropologist, primatologist, conservationist, ethologist, and author. She is a professor at Simon Fraser University. In the field of primatology, Galdikas is recognized as a leading authority on orangutans.[2] Prior to her field study of orangutans, scientists knew little about the species.[3]

Early life

[edit]

Galdikas was born on 10 May 1946 in Wiesbaden, West Germany.[4] Her parents, Antanas and Filomena Galdikas, were Lithuanian refugees fleeing the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states following World War II. When Galdikas was two years old, the family moved to Canada in 1948,[4] when her father signed a contract to work in copper mining in Quebec. The following year, they relocated to Toronto, where Galdikas grew up. Her father worked as a miner and a contractor. As a young child, Birutė's head was filled with visions of far-off forests and exotic creatures. The first book she borrowed from the Toronto Public Library was a tale about a monkey named Curious George. When she grew older, she was inspired by the National Geographic adventures of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey.[5] She has two younger brothers and a younger sister.[6][7]

Education

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In 1962, the Galdikas family moved to Vancouver, where Galdikas met her future husband, Rod Brindamour. Two years later, after Galdikas had begun studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), the family moved to the United States, where Galdikas enrolled in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and studied psychology and zoology.[4] In 1966, she earned her bachelor's degrees in psychology and zoology, jointly awarded by UCLA and UBC. She married Brindamour and earned her master's degree in anthropology from UCLA both in 1969.[4]

During her graduate studies at UCLA, Galdikas met paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, and proposed a plan aimed at studying orangutans in their natural habitats.[4] Galdikas convinced Leakey to help orchestrate her endeavour, despite his initial reservations. Leakey found funding from the National Geographic Society which agreed to establish a research facility in Borneo.[6][8] Her research became the basis of her doctoral studies, and she earned her doctorate in anthropology from UCLA in 1978.[6]

Works

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Research in Borneo

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In 1971, at age 25, Galdikas and her then-husband, photographer Rod Brindamour, arrived in Tanjung Puting Reserve, in Indonesian Borneo. Galdikas was the third of a trio of women appointed by Leakey to study great apes in their natural habitat. Dubbed by Leakey "The Trimates"[9] the trio also included Jane Goodall, who studied chimpanzees, and Dian Fossey, who studied gorillas.[3] Leakey and the National Geographic Society helped Galdikas set up her research camp near the edge of the Java Sea, dubbed "Camp Leakey", to conduct field study on orangutans in Borneo.[2] Before Galdikas's studies, the orangutan was the least understood of the great apes. Galdikas went on to greatly expand scientific knowledge of orangutan behaviour, habitat and diet.

Orangutan Foundation International

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In 1986, Galdikas and her colleagues founded Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), based in Los Angeles, USA, to help support orangutans around the world. Her second husband, Pak Bohap, who was a Dayak rice farmer and tribal president, assisted in setting up sister organisations in Australia, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom and is co-director of the orangutan program in Borneo.[1]

Advocacy and rehabilitation work

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Galdikas has remained in Borneo for over 40 years while becoming an outspoken advocate for orangutans and the preservation of their rainforest habitat, which is rapidly being destroyed by loggers, palm oil plantations, gold miners, and unnatural conflagrations.[10] While campaigning actively on behalf of primate conservation and preservation of rainforest, Galdikas continues her field research, among the lengthiest continuous studies of a mammal ever conducted. [citation needed]

Galdikas's conservation efforts extend beyond advocacy, largely focusing on rehabilitation of the orphaned orangutans turned over to her for care. Many of these orphans were once illegal pets, before becoming too smart and difficult for their owners to handle.[2]

She has written several books, including a memoir 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.

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

In 2021 Dr. Birutė Galdikas became a patron of the nature conservation non-profit organisation the Ancient Woods Foundation [lt][11] aiming to protect the remaining old-growth forests in Lithuania with all the biodiversity there.

Recognition

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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.[2] Galdikas's work has been acknowledged in television shows hosted by Steve Irwin as well as Jeff Corwin on Animal Planet.[citation needed]

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

Along with fellow Trimate Jane Goodall and preeminent field biologist George Schaller, Galdikas received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 1997 for her groundbreaking field research and lifetime contributions to the advancement of environmental science. Other honours include the Indonesia's Hero for the Earth Award (Kalpataru), Institute of Human Origins Science Award Officer, United Nations Global 500 Award (1993), Elizabeth II Commemorative Medal, the Eddie Bauer Hero of the Earth (1991), PETA Humanitarian Award (1990), and the Sierra Club Chico Mendes Award (1992). She was awarded a key to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2009 when she gave a presentation for the anthropology department at U.N.L.V.

Media

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Books

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  • Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo (1995)
  • Orangutan Odyssey (1999)
  • Great Ape Odyssey. (2005). Abrams: New York. ISBN 978-1-4351-1009-0

Film and television

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Galdikas stars in the feature documentary Born to Be Wild 3D, released in April 2011. She has also appeared in the documentaries Nature (TV series documentary, 2005), Life and Times (TV series documentary, 1996), 30 Years of National Geographic Specials (TV documentary, 1995), Orangutans: Grasping the Last Branch (documentary, 1989), Beauty and the beasts (Channel 4 UK documentary, 1996),[12] The Last Trimate (TV documentary, 2008), and She Walks With Apes (CBC TV documentary, 2019).[13] Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest (documentary, C4, UK 1995)

Controversy

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Galdikas was criticised in the late 1990s regarding her methods of rehabilitation. Primatologists debated the issue on the Internet mailing list Primate-Talk;[14] the issue was further fuelled by the publication of articles in Outside magazine (May 1998)[15] and Newsweek (June 1998).[16] As reported in both articles and summarized in the 1999 book A Dark Place in the Jungle by Canadian novelist Linda Spalding,[17] the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry — with whom Galdikas had clashed over logging policies — claimed that Galdikas held "a very large number of illegal orangutans ... in very poor conditions" at her Indonesian home, prompting the government to consider formal charges.[14] Galdikas denied all such claims in a response to Newsweek in June 1999, remarking that allegations of mistreatment were "simply, wrong" and that the "outlandish" claims formed the basis of "a totally one-sided campaign against me."[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas – Dr. Galdikas Biography". Orangutan Foundation International. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Galdikas-Brindamour, Birutė (October 1975). "Orangutans, Indonesia's "People of the Forest"". National Geographic Magazine. Vol. 148, no. 4. pp. 444–473.
  3. ^ a b de Waal, Frans (January 1995). "The Loneliest of Apes". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b c d e Spradley, Joseph L., ed. (2013). Scientists and Science. Great Lives From History. Vol. 2. Ipswich, Massachusetts: Salem Press. pp. 339–342. ISBN 978-1-58765-970-6 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Pfeiff, Margo (1993). "Mother to the Apes". Reader's Digest. 143 (855): 127–132.
  6. ^ a b c "Profile: Biruté Galdikas". www.science.ca. 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  7. ^ Gallardo, Evelyn (1993). Among the Orangutans: The Birute Galdikas Story. Chronicle Books. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0811804089. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  8. ^ Gallardo, Evelyn (1993). Among the Orangutans: The Birute Galdikas Story. Chronicle Books. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0811804089. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  9. ^ Galdikas, Birute Mary (6 January 2007). "The Vanishing Man of the Forest". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  10. ^ McDowell, Robin (18 January 2009). "Palm oil frenzy threatens to wipe out orangutans". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  11. ^ Sengirės fondas
  12. ^ "Sex and the Scientists: Beauty and the Beasts". 12 August 1996 – via www.imdb.com.
  13. ^ "She Walks with Apes | Nature of Things".
  14. ^ a b "News from academe: Monkey Business II". Slate. 20 June 1998. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  15. ^ [1] Archived 26 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Hammer, Joshua (1 June 1998). "A typhoon in a rain-forest Eden". Newsweek. Vol. 131, no. 22. p. 58.
  17. ^ Spalding, Linda (1998). A Dark Place in the Jungle: Science, Orangutans, and Human Nature. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. ISBN 978-1-56512-226-0.
  18. ^ Galdikas, Birute (29 June 1998). "Galdikas responds". Newsweek. Vol. 131, no. 26. p. 17.
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