Galdikas, << GAHL dih kuhs, >> Birute, << bih ROO tay >> (1946-…), a Lithuanian-born Canadian anthropologist, is one of the world’s leading experts on orangutans. Since 1971, she has studied wild orangutans on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo.
Galdikas’s early field work focused on how orangutans reproduce and interact with one another. These studies helped determine that orangutans differ from their ape relatives—chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas—in that they lead basically solitary lives. Males live alone except for brief periods when they mate with females. Adult females often live only with their offspring. Later work done by Galdikas and her colleagues revealed much about the orangutans’ extensive diet, which consists of more than 400 types of foods. Galdikas also studied the apes’ elaborate communication system and their ability to learn and solve problems.
Birute Marija Filomena Galdikas was born on May 10, 1946, in Wiesbaden, Germany, to Lithuanian parents. She grew up in Toronto. Galdikas received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1978.
In addition to her scientific contributions, Galdikas has led the effort to conserve orangutans and their dwindling rain forest habitat. As part of this effort, she instituted a program to reintroduce captive orangutans back into the wild. She also serves as president of the Orangutan Foundation International, a conservation organization based in Los Angeles. Galdikas spends part of each year teaching in Canada, at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, where she is professor of archaeology. Her writings include the book Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo (1995) and numerous articles. She also coauthored the book Orangutan Odyssey (1999).
See also Orangutan .
