As a result of her impact on two local residents, primatologist Biruté Mary Galdikas will visit Metropolitan State College of Denver later this month to give a presentation on her renowned work with orangutans in Borneo.
Galdikas, whose research is chronicled in the upcoming IMAX 3-D documentary “Born to Be Wild,” will appear at 5:30 p.m. on April 21 in St. Cajetan’s Center on the Auraria Campus.
In 1990, Galdikas’ work with primates in Borneo struck a chord with Catherine Gaither, who was vacationing there and at loose ends with what to do with her life. Her contact with Galdikas pointed her on the path to a doctorate in anthropology and her current job as assistant professor of anthropology at Metro State.
Nearly 20 years later, Niwot High School freshman Kristen Nordham, 15, visited Borneo with the IMAX film crew, and her experience with Galdikas cemented a love of orangutans that began when she wrote a fourth-grade research paper on the primates.
Together, Metro State and the Nordhams arranged sponsors for Galdikas’ visit, which the scientist will use to promote Orangutan Foundation International.
Admission is free for the Metro State event, but registration is required at http://bit.ly/dLl9m9. For more information, contact Gaither at 303-556-2936 or at gaither@mscd.edu.
Galdikas also will appear at 11 a.m. on April 23 at the Ricketson Auditorium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. For reservations, call 303-370-6000.
