Biruté Galdikas was a Canadian conservationist and primatologist who dedicated much of her life to understanding and protecting orangutans. Her work in Indonesian Borneo changed the way we see these great apes.
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How did Biruté Galdikas’ orangutan studies begin?
Galdikas studied psychology and zoology at the University of California in Los Angeles. After attending a talk by the anthropologist Louis Leakey, she approached him and suggested a plan: to study orangutans in their natural habitat.
Several years later, Leakey got funding from the National Geographic Society to help establish a research facility in the Tanjung Puting Reserve (now National Park), Indonesian Borneo, in 1971.
The camp was dubbed ‘Camp Leakey’ by Galdikas, in honour of her mentor.
Galdikas and her former husband Rod Brindamour moved to Camp Leakey in 1971. The research Galdikas carried out there became the basis of her PhD studies.
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What was the impact of Biruté Galdikas’ work?
Galdikas’ observations in Borneo spanned generations of orangutans. According to the non-profit organisation she co-founded, Orangutan Foundation International, her work is the “longest continuous study by one principal investigator of any wild mammal in the world”.
She improved the world’s understanding of orangutans, documenting detailed notes about their diet and complex social and mating systems. Before she went to Borneo, she was told by professors that orangutans were too elusive to be studied in the wild.
One of her most prominent discoveries was that the orangutans at Camp Leakey only had a baby every 7.7 years – which is a longer pregnancy gap than gorillas and chimpanzees.
Through her work on an orangutan rehabilitation and release program at Camp Leakey, Galdikas helped to reintegrate orangutans from the pet trade. She also highlighted the threats facing orangutans, such as deforestation.
In October 1975, she appeared on the cover of National Geographic Magazine with some of the orphan orangutans, and wrote an accompanying article about the animals. This feature brought herself and her studies to public attention.
Today, Camp Leakey continues to be an active research facility and supports scientists and students.
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Who are the Trimates?
The Trimates were a group of women made up of primatologists Biruté Galdikas, Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. They were all encouraged to study primates in the field by the anthropologist Louis Leakey. Galdikas studied orangutans, Goodall chimpanzees and Fossey gorillas.
Top image: Orangutan Foundation International's Dr. Nancy Briggs and Dr. Biruté Galdikas attend the after party for the premiere of "Born To Be Wild 3D" at the California Science Center in April 2011 in Los Angeles. Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
