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Mongabay's Environment Hall of Fame Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas - "The professor" who works to save orangutans By Christa Maas Dr. Galdikas, or "the professor", as Ringo Tang calls her lovingly after she saved his life, has studied and worked closely with Orangutans for more than 30 years. She knows more about Orangutan habitat and behavior than anyone else in the world. At the age of six, she was inspired by a book about a monkey and by second grade she knew she wanted to be an explorer. She studied zoology and anthropology and then she met Dr. Louis Leakey, an anthropologist in Kenya, Africa. She told him about her desire to study Orangutans. But she had to work really hard to convince Dr Leakey to get her the funding she needed. It took three years and finally, in 1971 she was able to go to a wild place called Tanjung Puting Reserve on the island of Borneo in Indonesia, where she has spent all these years trying to save Orangutans. At first she lived in the jungle under the most primitive conditions and she had to fight against all odds! But she never gave up and today she has saved more than 200 Orangutans. She is president of "OFI" (Orangutan Foundation International) and has brought the importance of saving this species not only to the attention of the government of Indonesia, but she has become a hero to the whole world! |
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The Adventures of Mongy the Frog
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