Anne Innis Dagg

Anne Innis Dagg is a pioneer, groundbreaking scientist, underdog, animal rights activist, feminist, teacher and mother. The youngest child of academics Harold Innis and Mary Quayle Innis, Anne has received worldwide recognition for her work with giraffes, becoming not only the first person to study giraffe behaviour in the wild, but also the first person to study any wild animal behaviour in Africa. She is the author of over 60 scientific papers and 24 books including, Pursuing Giraffe: A 1950’s Adventure (2006); 5 Giraffes (2016); and Smitten by Giraffe: My Life as a Citizen Scientist (2016). Anne’s academic interests include giraffes and Africa; gaits of mammals; sexual bias in behavioural biology; feminism (especially in academia); a historical study on Canadian women non-fiction authors; sociobiology; animal behaviours; aggression; and human evolution. Her honours include being named one of the top eight women biologists in Canada (1975); receiving a pioneering award from the Association of Giraffe Care Professionals (2010); and a lifetime achievement award from the International Giraffid Conference (2016). More recently, Anne was featured in “Courage and Passion: Canadian Women in Natural Sciences”, an exhibition which celebrates Canadian women who broke barriers to pursue their passion for science at the Canadian Museum of Nature. She was also named the 2018 Canadian Eco-Hero at Planet in Focus.