Camp Leakey has been the centre of orangutan research for 45 years under the guidance of Professor Biruté M.F.Galdikas, making this the longest single species investigation by a single person. In 1971, the 25 years-old Canadian Birute Galdikas began living in the remote jungles of Indonesian Borneo. She was determined to penetrate the world of the elusive “red ape” in the name of science and conservation. That`s when she set up her research camp, the Camp Leaky, named after her famous paleontologist professor, Louis Leakey. She is a pioneering primatologist, holding a Ph.D. in anthropology from U.C.L.A. and is president of the Orangutan Foundation International in Los Angeles. You can read the memoir of this remarkable woman in her book “Reflections of Eden” published by Back Bay Books.
