Biruté Galdikas

Birute Galdikas, Ph.D. (born 1946, Lithuania) is a primatologist, conservationist, ethologist, and author of several books relating to the endangered species Orangutan. Dr. Galdakis is 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. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Primatology is the study of primates. ... Conservationists are those people who tend to more highly rank the wise use of the Earths resources and ecosystems. ... Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour (particularly of social animals such as primates and canids), and is a branch of zoology. ... Species Pongo pygmaeus Pongo abelii Orangutans (also spelled orang utan, orang-utan, sometimes incorrectly orangutang) are two species of great apes with long arms and reddish, sometimes brown, hair native to Malaysia and Indonesia. ... Simon Fraser University (SFU) is located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. ... Burnaby, British Columbia, is a city immediately east of Vancouver. ... Map of Indonesia showing Jakarta Jakarta (also Djakarta or DKI Jakarta) is the capital and the largest city of Indonesia, located on the northwest coast of the island of Java, at 6°11′ S 106°50′ E. It has an area of 650 km² and a population of 8. ... Downtown Los Angeles skyline facing northeast toward the San Gabriel Mountains on a clear winter day. ...

Recognized as the world's leading authority on Orangutans, and a giant in the field of modern primatology, Dr. Galdikas is the third of a remarkable trio of women hand-picked by famed Kenyan paleontologist Dr. Louis Leakey to study mankind's nearest relatives, the great apes, in their natural habitats. 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. At 25, Dr. Galdikas was sent by Leakey to Borneo to conduct field studies of Orangutans in a jungle environment extremely inhospitable to Westerners. Primatology is the study of primates. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey (August 7, 1903-October 1, 1972) was a British archaeologist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... Genera Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - Orangutans Gigantopithecus (extinct) Sivapithecus (extinct) Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - Gorillas Pan - Chimpanzees Homo - Humans Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Pierolapithecus (extinct) (tentative) The Hominids (Hominidae) are a biological family which includes humans, extinct species of humanlike creatures and the other great apes... The term habitat has a number of unrelated meanings: A concept in Ecology: see habitat. ... Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall (born April 3, 1934) is a British primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist, probably best-known for conducting a forty-year study of chimpanzee social and family life, as director of the Jane Goodall Institute in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. ... Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzee, often abbreviated to chimp, is the common name for two species in the genus Pan. ... Dian Fossey ( January 16, 1932, San Francisco, California, United States - December 27, 1985, Ruhengeri, Rwanda) was an American ethologist interested in gorillas, completing an extended study of several gorilla groups, observing them daily for years in the mountain forests of Rwanda. ... Trinomial name Gorilla berengei berengei Matschie, 1914 The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of two subspecies of Eastern Gorillas. ... Borneo (including the Kalimantan provinces of Indonesia, Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia, and Brunei) is the third largest island in the world. ... Jungle refers usually to a forest. ...

Orangutans comprise an exceedingly intelligent great ape species native to Malaysia and Indonesia, who have long arms and reddish, sometimes brown, hair. The term Orangutan is derived from the Malay Orang Hutan, meaning 'man of the forest'. In biology, a species is a kind of organism. ... Malay can mean: The Malay language The Malay people From or related to Malaysia See also Cape Malays Malay nationalism Communes that begin with Malay in Yonne, France: Malay-le-Grand Malay-le-Petit This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Image of a man on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space A man is a male human adult, in contrast to an adult female, which is a woman. ... A dense growth of softwoods (a forest) in the Sierra Nevada Range of Northern California A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, an area set aside for hunting). ...

From the age of 5, Galdikas wondered where human beings came from. In college, her love of nature and curiosity about the great apes led her to study psychology and biology. Galdikas earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and zoology in 1966 and her master’s degree in anthropology in 1969 at the University of California, Los Angeles. It was there, as a graduate student, she first met Dr. Leakey and expressed her desire to study Orangutans in their natural habitats. Determined to study and understand the world of the elusive "red ape", Galdikas convinced Leakey to help orchestrate her endeavor, despite his initial reservations. Leakey and the National Geographic Society helped Galdikas intially set up her research camp to conduct field study on Orangutans in Borneo. 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. Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... The deepest visible-light image of the universe, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ... A curious kitten. ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul and logos = word) is the study of mind, thought, and behaviour. ... Biology is the science of life (from the Greek words bios = life and logos = reasoned account). ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul and logos = word) is the study of mind, thought, and behaviour. ... Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος = human) consists of the study of humankind (see genus Homo). ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

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. Once there, she encountered numerous poachers, legions of blood-sucking leeches, and swarms of carnivorous insects. 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. Orders Arhynchobdellida Rhynchobdellida *There is some dispute as to whether Hirudinea should be a class itself, or a subclass of the Clitellata. ... An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another, especially in a legal context. ... Rainforest on Fatu-Hiva, Marquesas Islands A rainforest is a forested biome with high annual rainfall due to the Intertropical convergence zone. ... A logger is someone who is employed in the logging industry to cut down and transport trees to market. ... For other uses see fire (disambiguation). ... Rehabilitation is the restoration of lost capabilities, or the treatment aimed at producing it. ...

Galdikas continues her field research and campaigns on behalf of primate conservation. 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. The Dayak people are indigenous occupants of the Kalimantan region of Borneo. ... Tribal, as a noun, refers to a type of design or image that has been influenced by tribes of indigenous peoples. ... A memoir, as a literary genre, forms a sub-class of autobiography. ...

Those rehabilitation efforts became the center of controversies for Galdikas and the Orangutan Foundation. The effectiveness of rehabilitation spawned widespread debate in the late 1990s, due in part to articles and books about Galdikas by Canadian Linda Spalding. It was suggested wild orangutan populations might be harmed as a result of the manner in which rehabilitation was being conducted.

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'. The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... ... The Los Angeles Times (also LA Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the western United States. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

See Also

List of apes Chantek This is a list of apes of encyclopedic interest. ...

External Links

• Science.co (http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=7) - Biruté Galdikas
• Orangutan.org (http://www.orangutan.org/home/home.php) - Orangutan Foundation International
• OrionSociety.org (http://www.orionsociety.org/pages/om/05-2om/Antonetta.html) - Does an Orangutan find freedom in the gift of words? Do we?
• Orangutan Cultures Online Duke.edu (http://www.duke.edu/%7Emym1/ouculturesPR.htm) - Orangutan Cultures Online
• Asinah.org (http://www.asinah.org/travel-guides/indonesia-bukit-lawang.html) - Bohorok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center