from the FOREWORD by Rob Laidlaw: Anne Innis Dagg's fascination with giraffes began when she was just a toddler. After she saw giraffes in a zoo she knew she would study these amazing animals in the wild one day. So, after graduating from university in 1955 with a Gold Medal in Biology, Anne made the daring decision to travel from her native Canada to Africa on her own to conduct a study of the behaviour of giraffes in their natural habitat. No one had ever done anything like that before. Now she is a well-known animal rights advocate, scientist, teacher, and the author of many scientific papers, articles, and books. She is also the first person to have studied a large mammal--the giraffe--in the wilds of Africa. Anne arrived in South Africa, after a three-week-long ship voyage, in the summer of 1956. She spent the next year studying giraffes in the wild, often watching them from early morning until sunset. When she first started, little was known about the natural behaviours and lifestyles of giraffes, but Anne's field studies and research changed all that. Her research also helped establish her as one of the world's leading giraffe experts. 5 Giraffes is an important book and it comes at an important time. In just the last 15 years, poaching and the presence of humans into giraffe habitats have reduced Africa's total giraffe population by more than 40 percent. Today there are just 80,000 giraffes left on the entire African continent. Some giraffe populations have suffered even more drastic declines, such as the giraffes of Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve, which have been reduced by 95 percent. And all over the world giraffes in captivity face challenges of their own, such as poor living conditions, foot problems, and inbreeding. Excerpted from 5 Giraffes by Anne Innis Dagg All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
