Biruté Galdikas carries an orangutan named Isabel before releasing her into the wild at Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesia in this Oct. 25, 2008, photo. Dr. Galdikas died on March 24 at the age of 79.Irwin Fedriansyah/The Associated Press
Keriann McGoogan is the author of Sisters of the Jungle: The Trailblazing Women Who Shaped the Study of Wild Primates.
The recent passing of Biruté Galdikas marks the end of a chapter in primatology and primate conservation. She was the last of the legendary “Trimates,” the three women who set out in the 1960s and 1970s to study great apes in the wild. Alongside Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Dr. Galdikas changed the way we see our closest living relatives. Now, the future of primate conservation is up to a new generation.
Dr. Galdikas’s path to the primates began with a declaration. After attending a talk by famed archaeologist Louis Leakey at the University of California, Los Angeles, she boldly approached him. She announced her intention to study a little known great ape: the red-haired orangutan. Dr. Leakey, who believed that studying great apes could help us better understand how our early human ancestors lived, agreed to sponsor her in this mission. In 1971, the 25-year-old set off for Borneo.
Primatologist Dr. Biruté Galdikas was a leading voice for the protection of orangutans
There, she collected groundbreaking data: the large tree-dwelling orangutans are solitary, use tools in the wild, and create nests for sleeping. During her very first week in Borneo, she also found that orangutans were being taken for the pet trade, and she rescued a young male infant. This marked the beginning of her decades-long work in primate rescue and rehabilitation, but her conservation efforts didn’t stop there. She knew that it would be impossible to release orangutans back into the wild if the forests, threatened by logging, agriculture, and fire, were gone. She advocated for the creation of a protected reserve, and Tanjung Puting National Park, now one of the most important strongholds for wild orangutans, was born.
Dr. Galdikas understood that the threats facing orangutans were part of a larger crisis affecting primates worldwide. Globally, there are roughly 500 primate species spanning 90 countries. Sixty-five per cent are categorized as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. About 75 per cent are declining in population. Scientists warn we are facing an extinction crisis – an alarm that Dr. Galdikas began sounding decades ago.
As a trained primatologist, I was inspired by Dr. Galdikas. Primatology is one of the few scientific fields shaped by women since the 1960s, thanks to trailblazers like her. Dr. Galdikas showed me that women can lead, and she also offered a sobering realization: our closest relatives are disappearing because of us.
From left, Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall and Biruté Galdikas.Orangutan Foundation International/Supplied
We humans – now more than eight billion strong – are the most populous primate species on Earth. Our expansion has come at a cost. Habitat loss from agriculture, logging, and livestock farming is the leading driver of primate population decline. Hunting, mining, infrastructure development, pollution, and climate change compound the pressure.
So why aren’t more people sounding the alarm as Dr. Galdikas did?
When I think about how society relates to primates, I see three dominant attitudes here in the Global North.
The first is indifference. Many people do not think about primates at all. They may recognize a chimpanzee or a lemur but remain unaware that these animals are at risk of vanishing.
The second sits at an extreme: fear or discomfort. Popular culture often portrays primates as dangerous or unsettling. Think of blockbuster films featuring giant apes or viral debates about whether a gorilla could defeat dozens of humans. These narratives obscure an important reality: gorillas, for example, are highly endangered. Mountain gorillas number just around a thousand individuals in the wild. The real fight is not between humans and gorillas; it is a fight to ensure gorillas survive at all.
Dr. Galdikas holds an orphaned adolescent orangutan on the grounds of the Orangutan Foundation International Care Center in Borneo, Indonesia, on Oct. 6, 2000.Alex Pitt/ZUMAPRESS.com/Reuters
The third attitude lies at the opposite extreme as fear: obsession. Social media has amplified this phenomenon. Viral videos of infant monkeys or apes evoke strong emotional reactions, with viewers treating them as pets or human children. But this kind of affection, however well-meaning, can fuel harmful outcomes. Dr. Galdikas witnessed this first-hand in Borneo. When people see primates as suitable companions, it encourages the illegal pet trade, which devastates wild populations and leads to suffering for the animals involved.
Dr. Galdikas’s legacy offers a fourth approach: connection and conservation.
Thanks to her, I found this path early in my career. As an undergraduate, I worked at the Calgary Zoo and became fascinated by a young gorilla named Zuri. Watching her, I felt a profound connection – not a desire to own a primate, but a determination to protect them. That moment set me on a journey that took me to Belize to study howler monkeys and to Madagascar to research lemurs.
In Belize, I learned how primates shape ecosystems. Howler monkeys disperse seeds, helping forests regenerate. Other primates pollinate flowers or influence food webs. These animals are not just charismatic – they are essential to healthy habitats.
In Madagascar, I studied the Coquerel’s sifaka, a lemur species that has been designated as Critically Endangered. Lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals on the planet. I learned that habitat loss threatened them, but local communities are also facing food insecurity and preventable health challenges. It is critical to find a balance between the needs of wildlife and the needs of humans.
Today, I am a board member for Planet Madagascar, a conservation charity focused on protecting lemurs through a community-centred approach. By supporting forest restoration, fire management, and local livelihoods, we aim to help people, wildlife, and the environment thrive together.
We are not alone. Across the globe, scientists, conservationists, and local communities are working tirelessly to protect primates. But they need public support, which means a shift in how we think about these animals. Dr. Biruté Galdikas showed us how to make that shift. She demonstrated how one person, driven by passion and curiosity, can transform science and conservation.
It is up to us to follow that fourth path and to write the next chapter for our closest living relatives.