Pioneering Primatologist Biruté Galdikas Dies at 79

Biruté Galdikas, a Lithuanian-Canadian primatologist and leading authority on orangutans, died on March 24, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. She was 79 years old.

Galdikas, who died following a prolonged illness, was a conservationist, anthropologist, and ethologist recognized for her half-century of research and advocacy for wild orangutans in the tropical rainforests of Borneo. She was one of the researchers known as Leakey’s Angels.

Prior to Galdikas’ field studies, scientific knowledge regarding orangutans was limited. Her work focused on the study and preservation of the species, specifically within the Tanjung Puting Reserve in Central Borneo, which served as the subject of her 1978 thesis on orangutan adaptation.

Early Life and Education

Born on May 10, 1946, in Wiesbaden, Greater Hesse, Germany, Galdikas was the daughter of Antanas and Filomena Galdikas. Her parents were Lithuanian refugees fleeing the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states following World War II.

The family moved to Canada when Galdikas was two years old, first settling in Quebec where her father worked in copper mining, and later relocating to Toronto. As a child, she was inspired by the National Geographic adventures of primatologists Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey.

Galdikas pursued her higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she earned her Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and PhD.

Academic and Conservation Career

In addition to her field research, Galdikas served as a professor at Simon Fraser University. Her career spanned several disciplines, including anthropology and ethology, and she authored works based on her observations of primate behavior.

Her contributions to environmental preservation and the protection of endangered species were recognized internationally. In 1997, she was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.

Galdikas is remembered as a champion for the preservation of the Borneo rainforests and the orangutans that inhabit them, dedicating her professional life to the protection of these animals from displacement and extinction.