Biruté Galdikas
In 1946, Biruté Marija Filomena Galdikas was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. Galdikas was raised in Canada. She received her Ph. D in anthropology from UCLA. In 1971, at the urging of Dr. Leakey, Galdikas arrived on the Indonesian island of Borneo to study the orangutan. Galdikas is especially interested in the parent offspring relationship the orangutans exhibit and the light it sheds on the origins of humans. Galdikas is the co-creator of Orangutan Foundation International. Galdikas married a native Indonesian and has three children. Galdikas is currently working to preserve the environment of the endangered orangutan.
Links
http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=7
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/galdikas.htm
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Birute_Galdikas
Dian Fossey
Dian Fossey was born in San Francisco on January 16, 1932. In 1949, Fossey graduated from high school and went to Marin Junior College to study business. Shortly after, in 1950, Fossey transferred to the University of California as a Pre-Vet major. However, Fossey didn’t stay there, instead going to San Jose State College and graduating with a B.A. in occupational therapy in 1954. Fossey worked as a Director of Occupational Therapy for several years, but in 1963 was able to realize her dream of visiting Africa. On this visit she met Dr. Leakey and was introduced to what would become her life work, the study of mountain gorillas. In 1966, Fossey began researching the behavior of the gorillas. She became quite close to them as a result and fought avidly for their protection against poachers. In 1974, Fossey received her Ph.D. in zoology. Fossey’s life was cut short however, in 1985, Fossey was murdered by a poacher.
Links
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/environment/a/dian_fossey.htm
http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/fossey.htm
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/dianfossey.html
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/fghij/fossey_dian.html
http://www.informatics.org/gorilla/
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/fossey.htm
Jane Goodall
Valerie Jane Morris Goodall, more commonly known as Jane Goodall, was born on April 3, 1934 in London, England. Her fascination with animals first began with the gift of a lifelike chimpanzee toy named Jubilee, given to her by her father. Goodall’s parents divorced when she was twelve, and Goodall moved to Bournemouth, England with her mother. After graduating from primary school, Goodall started working to save money for her first trip to Africa. Her dream was realized in 1957, when she accompanied Louis Leakey and his wife to Mombasa, on the east African coast. Leakey chose Goodall to research chimpanzees. In 1960, Goodall began her study into the behavior of chimpanzees at the Gombe National Park in southeastern Africa. This research has spanned into a lifetime of discoveries. In 1965, Goodall received her Doctorate from Cambridge University, although she hadn’t completed an undergraduate. Although Goodall currently travels the world giving speeches, her work continues through the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation in Ridgefeild, Connecticut.
Links
http://www.rootsandshoots.org/
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/janegoodall/p/jane_goodall.htm
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/janegoodall.html
http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/janegoodall/heroes/jane/jane.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/explorers/jane-goodall.html
http://www.janegoodall-italia.org/html/jgi_english.html
http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/gombe.html
