Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas or Birutė Mary Galdikas, OC (born 10 May 1946), is a Lithuanian-Canadian

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, 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

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

s. Prior to her field study of orangutans, scientists knew little about the species.

Early life

Galdikas was born on 10 May 1946 in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Germany. Her parents, Antanas and Filomena Galdikas, were

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

refugees fleeing the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. When Galdikas was two years old, the family moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1948, when her father signed a contract to work in copper mining in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. The following year, they relocated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 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 Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. Geor ...

. When she grew older, she was inspired by the ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' adventures of

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best know ...

and Dian Fossey. She has two younger brothers and a younger sister.

Education

In 1962 the Galdikas family moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, where Galdikas met her future husband, Rod Brindamour. Two years later, after Galdikas had begun studies at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(UBC), the family moved to the United States, where Galdikas enrolled in the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA), and studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. In 1966, she earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

s in psychology and zoology, jointly awarded by UCLA and UBC. She married Brindamour and earned her master's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

from UCLA both in 1969. During her graduate studies at UCLA, Galdikas met paleoanthropologist

Louis Leakey Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey (7 August 1903 – 1 October 1972) was a Kenyan-British palaeoanthropologist and archaeologist whose work was important in demonstrating that humans evolved in Africa, particularly through discoveries made at Olduvai ...

, and proposed a plan aimed at studying orangutans in their natural habitats. Galdikas convinced Leakey to help orchestrate her endeavor, despite his initial reservations. Leakey found funding from the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

which agreed to establish a research facility in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. Her research became the basis of her doctoral studies, and she earned her doctorate in anthropology from UCLA in 1978.

Work

Research in Borneo

In 1971, at age 25, Galdikas and her then-husband, photographer Rod Brindamour, arrived in

Tanjung Puting Tanjung Puting National Park is a national park in Indonesia located in the southeast part of West Kotawaringin Regency in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan (Central Borneo). The nearest main town is the capital of the Regency, Pan ...

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 The Trimates, sometimes called Leakey's Angels, is a name given to three women — Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas — chosen by anthropologist Louis Leakey to study hominids in their natural environments. They studied chimpanz ...

" the trio also included

, who studied

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

s, and Dian Fossey, who studied

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

s. Leakey and the

helped Galdikas set up her research camp near the edge of the

Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...

, dubbed "Camp Leakey", to conduct field study on orangutans in

. Before Galdikas's studies, the orangutan was the least understood of the great apes. Galdikas went on to greatly expand scientific knowledge of orangutan behavior, habitat and diet.

Orangutan Foundation International

In 1986 Galdikas and her colleagues founded

Orangutan Foundation International Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) has its headquarters in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Dr. Birutė Galdikas, one of three anthropologists (The Trimates) to study great apes under the guidance of Dr. Louis Leakey, OFI continues to res ...

(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.

Advocacy and rehabilitation work

Galdikas has remained in Borneo for over 40 years while becoming an outspoken

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

for orangutans and the preservation of their rainforest habitat, which is rapidly being destroyed by loggers,

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

plantations, gold miners, and unnatural conflagrations. 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. Galdikas's

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

efforts extend beyond advocacy, largely focusing on

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

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. 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 currently a professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, and Professor Extraordinaire at

Universitas Nasional The National University ( id, Universitas Nasional, UNAS) is the oldest private university in Jakarta and the second oldest in Indonesia. It was founded as the National Academy by several Indonesian scholars on October 15, 1949. UNAS has been ac ...

in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is also president of the Orangutan Foundation International in Los Angeles, California. In 2021 Dr. Birute Galdikas became a patron of the nature conservation non-profit organisation The Ancient Woods Foundation
Sengirės fondas
aiming to protect the remaining old-growth forests in Lithuania with all the biodiversity there.

Recognition

Galdikas has been featured in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', numerous television

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

, and twice on the cover of ''

''. Galdikas's work has been acknowledged in television shows hosted by Steve Irwin as well as

Jeff Corwin Jeffrey Corwin (born July 11, 1967) is an American biologist and wildlife conservation movement, conservationist, known for hosting Disney Channel's ''Going Wild with Jeff Corwin'', ''The Jeff Corwin Experience'' on Animal Planet, American Broa ...

on Animal Planet. In 1995, Galdikas was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. Along with fellow Trimate Jane Goodall and preeminent field biologist

George Schaller George Beals Schaller (born 1933) is a German-born American mammalogist, biologist, conservationist and author. Schaller is recognized by many as the world's preeminent field biologist, studying wildlife throughout Africa, Asia and South Americ ...

, 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 honors include the Indonesia's Hero for the Earth Award (Kalpataru), Institute of Human Origins Science Award Officer,

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Global 500 Award (1993), Elizabeth II Commemorative Medal, the Eddie Bauer Hero of the Earth (1991),

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

Humanitarian Award (1990), and the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

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

Books

* ''Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo'' (1995) * ''Orangutan Odyssey'' (1999) * ''Great Ape Odyssey''. (2005). Abrams: New York.

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), ''The Last Trimate'' (TV documentary, 2008), and ''She Walks With Apes'' (CBC TV documentary, 2019). ''Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest'' (documentary, C4, UK 1995)

Controversy

Galdikas was criticised in the late 1990s regarding her methods of rehabilitation. Primatologists debated the issue on the Internet mailing list Primate-Talk; the issue was further fueled by the publication of articles in ''Outside'' magazine (May 1998) and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' (June 1998). As reported in both articles and summarized in the 1999 book ''A Dark Place in the Jungle'' by Canadian novelist

Linda Spalding Linda Spalding (née Dickinson; June 25, 1943) is a Canadian writer and editor. Born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Jacob Alan Dickinson and Edith Senner, she lived in Mexico and Hawaii before moving to Toronto, Ontario in 1982. She has tw ...

, 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. 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."

References

External links

Galdikas's official blog

Orangutan Foundation Canada
*
International Birute Galdikas charity fund

Orangutan.org
-

"Does an Orangutan find freedom in the gift of words? Do we?"
by

Susanne Antonetta Susanne Antonetta is the pen name of Suzanne Paola (born September 29, 1956, in Georgia), an American poet and author who is most widely known for her book ''Body Toxic: An Environmental Memoir''. In 2001, ''Body Toxic'' was named by the ''New Y ...

(March 2005)
Profile
at science.ca (20 April 2004)

awarded to Galdikas in 1997 {{DEFAULTSORT:Galdikas, Birute 1946 births Living people 20th-century Canadian women scientists Canadian environmentalists Canadian anthropologists Canadian women anthropologists Canadian people of Lithuanian descent Lithuanian anthropologists Lithuanian women anthropologists Ethologists Women primatologists Primatologists Orangutan conservation Officers of the Order of Canada Simon Fraser University faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni Scientists from Toronto People from Wiesbaden