A “Trimate” is a unique and wonderful phenomena that has occurred only thrice on this planet. But what is it? Well, there were three of them (thus the prefix “tri”). Now there are two. The Trimates are “the Founding Mothers of Primatology”. They were three women researchers who were so named by Dr. Louis Leakey, a Kenyan paleoanthropologist and archaeologist born in 1903 and educated at the University of Cambridge. He is famed for his study of human evolution and his early pioneering work in the field of paleotology.

These “Mothers of Primatology” were no less than Jane Goodall (for chimpanzees), Dian Fossey (for gorillas) and Birute Mary Galdikas (for orangutans). Both Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey worked with the African Great Apes. Their work became well known “Hollywood style” as both have been featured in films (‘Gorillas in the Mist’ – starring Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey) and various documentaries.

Documentaries have also been made about the lesser-known Trimate Birute Mary Galdikas – but she has not been sensationalized as much as Goodall and Fossey. For one her work has been in Borneo Indonesia and not Africa. Orangutans only occur in two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia – but more specifically in Sumatra and Borneo. And also, she doesn’t strike one as a person wanting or needing stardom. She has a tendency to be shy and is very soft spoken.

She has also worked with the only semi-solitary Great Ape – the other three African apes (chimps, gorillas and bonobos) live in social groups. The orangutan however, is semi-solitary in that it has the longest childhood dependence on its mother than any other animal in the world. The babies nurse until they are about 6 years of age. The young females may stay with their mothers until they are into their teens allowing them to observe mothering skills as they watch their younger siblings being raised by their mother. But other than the mother/child relationship, these apes are solitary. And they have been the long time companions and focus of Birute Galdikas’ life work for over 40 years.

I had the pleasure and privilege of working with her during my time in Borneo. Stay posted for more on the work of Dr. Birute Galdikas. I will be diligently working to get her here to the States for speaking engagements. If you have a viable venue for her to raise donations, please let me know. Borneo and Sumatra are anticipating more deliberately set (by palm oil plantations) forest fires in 2016. They are in dire need of raising funds to fight the fires next year. They are also in need of funds to help with the cost of the huge numbers of orphaned orangutan babies (mothers killed by palm oil plantation workers during the deliberate setting of fires and then the babies sold into the illegal pet trade business). Please visit: https://orangutan.org/ to foster or adopt an orangutan, or to donate to the palm oil fire fund.

Jami Tarris