The Trimates
Considered the world's preeminent primatologist, Dr. Goodall was the first of the Trimates to live among the Great Apes. It was in 1960 that Jane arrived at Gombe National Park in Tanzania and began her research on chimpanzees. She would go on to become an advocate for conservation and a role model for many.
Jane Goodall
Dian Fossey lived among the mountain gorillas of Rwanda for over 18 years. She was known for enacting extremely aggressive conservation tactics to combat the poachers in the area. Instead of going extinct, the mountain gorilla is the only great ape whose population is rising, thanks to the foundations laid by Dian before her death in 1985.
Dian Fossey
Dr. Galdikas is the only original Trimate still living among the apes she studies. Since 1971 she has worked with the Indonesian locals to create multiple conservation hubs where she and many other scientists work to facilitate the raising and release of orphaned orangutans.
Biruté Galdikas
The New Generation
Julia literally became a primatologist because of Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall. She immigrated with her parents from Romania when she was 9. She recently got her PhD and was appointed as a professor at the University of Montreal.
Julia Badescu
Nadia Niyonizeye is a research assistant at The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Musanze. She is a trailblazer – one of the new generation of Rwandan gorilla researchers. She is concentrating on getting her master’s degree.
Nadia Niyonizeye
In 2010, the Alberta native had been studying biology and ecology when she took a class with Biruté Galdikas. She had no idea who she was at the time but after the first day, Ruth decided she was going to spend her life studying orangutans.