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One of the world’s foremost orangutan experts, Biruté Mary Galdikas, has received a prestigious global award recognizing her extraordinary lifetime work studying and protecting the endangered species.

Galdikas received The Explorers Medal from The Explorers Club, a renowned U.S.-based society dedicated to the field of research and scientific exploration, on April 26. 

A world authority on orangutans, the ������Ƶ professor has dedicated more than half a century to studying the great apes in the rainforests of Borneo, while also campaigning for their protection and the conservation of their rainforest habitat.    

“For me this is the greatest honour that I have ever received,” says Galdikas. “I am very proud of this award. It’s an acknowledgement of the importance of the work that I have carried out continuously over the last 54 years.”

The Explorers Medal is the club’s highest honour. It recognizes individuals for their extraordinary contributions directly in the field of exploration, scientific research, or to the welfare of humanity.

Galdikas joins a long list of distinguished recipients to have received the award; among the household names on the roll of honour are Jane Goodall, Sir Edmund Hillary and Neil Armstrong. 

“We are trying to do as much as we can for orangutans and rainforest conservation. Without rainforests, orangutans cannot exist – that is true for humankind as well,” says Galdikas. 

“Over the years, the rainforests have been demolished and fragmented. Some orangutan populations have gone extinct.” 

Galdikas first arrived on the Indonesian portion of Borneo in 1971 to study orangutans in their natural environment. She went on to setup Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) in 1986. 

Alongside her field work, Galdikas has been teaching at SFU for more than 40 years. While she is currently on sabbatical, she still teaches one semester per year. 

“I still enjoy it. Young people keep older people young. They ask interesting questions that your fellow scientists never think about asking. They have fresh ideas,” says Galdikas, who lives in Borneo for six months of the year. 

“I really appreciate that SFU has always supported the fact that I do long-term research.”

David Burley, former chair of archaeology at SFU, said Galdikas’ award is richly deserved. 

“Biruté is truly deserving of The Explorers Medal, as well as the many other honours bestowed upon her,” says Burley. 

“Being a successful academic is hard enough. Combining that with a lifelong dedication to orangutan conservation in Kalimantan is quite another. 

“As a former department chair, her course evaluations always brought a smile to my face when students not only found the class rewarding, but oftentimes labelled it the best class taken at SFU. 

“And it made me and other members of the department proud when her work and struggles were globally recognised in the 2011 internationally acclaimed documentary Born to be Wild.”

Undoubtedly a source of inspiration for students at SFU and beyond, Galdikas has a simple message for those looking to follow in her footsteps. 

“My key message is for people to follow their dreams and the rest will follow,” she says.