Jane Goodall
Iconic images of Jane Goodall with her chimpanzee friends illustrate her passion for these endangered species. From age 26, she has spent time studying chimps, helping humans to understand these complex primates.
This British primatologist does not only champion a chimpanzee cause, but she also works towards bettering the communities around the chimps. Her nonprofit organization,The Jane Goodall Institute, engages people worldwide in efforts to care for our planet.
Dian Fossey
Dian Fossey’s story started with her studies of gorillas in Rwanda, encouraged by Louis Leakey as one of three “Leakey’s Angels,” alongside Jane Goodall and Birutė Galdikas. While in Rwanda, Fossey created the Karisoke Research Center and actively opposed poaching in the region. She founded the Digit Fund after her favorite gorilla (the fund’s namesake) was killed by poachers. The fund, now the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, enables anti-poaching patrols to continue in the area.
Birute Galdikas
Another member of "Leakey’s Angels," Birutė Galdikas took on the cause of orangutan conservation and is now known to be a top authority on these fascinating primates. She studied orangutans in their Bornean habitats and has since focused on rehabilitating orphaned orangutans and advocating for the species’ protection. She founded the Orangutan Foundation International to preserve their rain forest home.
Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau's passion for marine conservation was clear throughout his life. As an explorer, he dove deeper into the ocean than ever before. As an inventor, he enabled others to do the same. As a filmmaker, Cousteau educated many of us about what swims beneath the mysterious waters that cover most of our planet. As a conservationist, he battled against commercial whaling and inspired others to care for and respect the ocean just as he did.
Gerald Durrell
Gerald Durrell founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust as well as the Jersey Zoo, now known as Durrell Wildlife Park. An environmental message penetrated his many books, which included autobiographies, children’s books and novels. Durrell saw zoos as an opportunity to foster endangered species and worked during his life to restore species such as the Mauritius Kestrel raptor.
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