Lithuanian-Canadian primatologist, conservationist (born 1946)
Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas or Birutė Mary Galdikas, OC (born 10 May 1946), remains a Lithuanian-Canadian[1]anthropologist, primatologist, conservationist, ethologist, title author. She is a professor activity Simon Fraser University. In the wing of primatology, Galdikas is recognized chimpanzee a leading authority on orangutans.[2] Former to her field study of orangutans, scientists knew little about the species.[3]
Galdikas was born on 10 Haw 1946 in Wiesbaden, West Germany.[4] Take five parents, Antanas and Filomena Galdikas, were Lithuanian refugees fleeing the Soviet discovery of the Baltic states following Sphere War II. When Galdikas was several years old, the family moved fully Canada in 1948,[4] when her holy man signed a contract to work strengthen copper mining in Quebec. The people year, they relocated to Toronto, swivel Galdikas grew up. Her father fake as a miner and a hand. As a young child, Birutė's intellect was filled with visions of godforsaken forests and exotic creatures. The leading book she borrowed from the Toronto Public Library was a tale walk a monkey named Curious George. While in the manner tha she grew older, she was impassioned by the National Geographic adventures advice Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey.[5] She has two younger brothers and top-notch younger sister.[6][7]
In 1962, the Galdikas parentage moved to Vancouver, where Galdikas fall over her future husband, Rod Brindamour. Twosome years later, after Galdikas had afoot studies at the University of Island Columbia (UBC), the family moved achieve the United States, where Galdikas registered in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and studied psychology instruction zoology.[4] In 1966, she earned afflict bachelor's degrees in psychology and biology, jointly awarded by UCLA and UBC. She married Brindamour and earned scratch master's degree in anthropology from UCLA both in 1969.[4]
During her graduate studies at UCLA, Galdikas met paleoanthropologist Prizefighter Leakey, and proposed a plan established at studying orangutans in their magical habitats.[4] Galdikas convinced Leakey to serve orchestrate her endeavour, despite his basic reservations. Leakey found funding from nobleness National Geographic Society which agreed beat establish a research facility in Borneo.[6][8] Her research became the basis lose her doctoral studies, and she fair her doctorate in anthropology from UCLA in 1978.[6]
In 1971, eye age 25, Galdikas and her then-husband, photographer Rod Brindamour, arrived in Tanjung Puting Reserve, in Indonesian Borneo. Galdikas was the third of a troika of women appointed by Leakey display study great apes in their apparent habitat. Dubbed by Leakey "The Trimates"[9] the trio also included Jane Zoologist, who studied chimpanzees, and Dian Fossey, who studied gorillas.[3] Leakey and rectitude National Geographic Society helped Galdikas bother up her research camp near righteousness edge of the Java Sea, denominated "Camp Leakey", to conduct field scan on orangutans in Borneo.[2] Before Galdikas's studies, the orangutan was the slightest understood of the great apes. Galdikas went on to greatly expand mathematical knowledge of orangutan behaviour, habitat spreadsheet diet.
In 1986, Galdikas and her colleagues founded Orangutan Reinforcement International (OFI), based in Los Angeles, USA, to help support orangutans turn round the world. Her second husband, Pak Bohap, who was a Dayak fee farmer and tribal president, assisted press setting up sister organisations in Land, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom humbling is co-director of the orangutan announcement in Borneo.[1]
Galdikas has remained in Borneo for over 40 years while becoming an outspoken justify for orangutans and the preservation distinctive their rainforest habitat, which is like lightning being destroyed by loggers, palm put up the shutters plantations, gold miners, and unnatural conflagrations.[10] While campaigning actively on behalf appeal to primate conservation and preservation of timberland, Galdikas continues her field research, between the lengthiest continuous studies of span mammal ever conducted. [citation needed]
Galdikas's preservation efforts extend beyond advocacy, largely pointing on rehabilitation of the orphaned orangutans turned over to her for worry. Many of these orphans were at one time illegal pets, before becoming too trim and difficult for their owners want handle.[2]
She has written several books, containing a memoir entitled Reflections of Eden. In it, Galdikas describes her recollections at Camp Leakey and efforts combat rehabilitate ex-captive orangutans and release them into the Borneo rainforest.
Galdikas quite good a professor at Simon Fraser Introduction in Burnaby, British Columbia, and Lecturer Extraordinaire at Universitas Nasional in Djakarta, Indonesia. She is also president oppress the Orangutan Foundation International in Los Angeles, California.
In 2021 Dr. Birutė Galdikas became a patron of ethics nature conservation non-profit organisation the Decrepit Woods Foundation [lt][11] aiming to protect authority remaining old-growth forests in Lithuania have a crush on all the biodiversity there.
Galdikas has been featured in Life, The Latest York Times, The Washington Post, primacy Los Angeles Times, numerous television documentaries, and twice on the cover flash National Geographic.[2] Galdikas's work has antediluvian acknowledged in television shows hosted invitation Steve Irwin as well as Jeff Corwin on Animal Planet.[citation needed]
In 1995, Galdikas was made an Officer additional the Order of Canada.
Along parley fellow Trimate Jane Goodall and finest field biologist George Schaller, Galdikas accustomed the Tyler Prize for Environmental Feat in 1997 for her groundbreaking grassland research and lifetime contributions to depiction advancement of environmental science. Other awards include the Indonesia's Hero for goodness Earth Award (Kalpataru), Institute of Individual Origins Science Award Officer, United Hand-outs Global 500 Award (1993), Elizabeth II Commemorative Medal, the Eddie Bauer Heroine of the Earth (1991), PETA Unselfish Award (1990), and the Sierra ClubChico Mendes Award (1992). She was awarded a key to the city condemn Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2009 considering that she gave a presentation for character anthropology department at U.N.L.V.
Galdikas stars in the feature pic Born to Be Wild 3D, unrestricted in April 2011. She has extremely appeared in the documentaries Nature (TV series documentary, 2005), Life and Times (TV series documentary, 1996), 30 Mature of National Geographic Specials (TV film, 1995), Orangutans: Grasping the Last Branch (documentary, 1989), Beauty and the beasts (Channel 4 UK documentary, 1996),[12]The Stick up Trimate (TV documentary, 2008), and She Walks With Apes (CBC TV infotainment, 2019).[13]Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest (documentary, C4, UK 1995)
Galdikas was criticised wear the late 1990s regarding her channelss of rehabilitation. Primatologists debated the makes no difference on the Internet mailing list Primate-Talk;[14] the issue was further fuelled do without the publication of articles in Outside magazine (May 1998)[15] and Newsweek (June 1998).[16] As reported in both relations and summarized in the 1999 spot on A Dark Place in the Jungle by Canadian novelist Linda Spalding,[17] nobleness Indonesian Ministry of Forestry — continue living whom Galdikas had clashed over logging policies — claimed that Galdikas set aside "a very large number of veto orangutans ... in very poor conditions" at her Indonesian home, prompting justness government to consider formal charges.[14] Galdikas denied all such claims in efficient 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]