Once upon a time, there was a young girl who loved giraffes so much she went to college to study biology and then moved to Africa to study them in the wild.
At a time when few scientists had ever studied wild animals in their natural habitats — and even fewer women were allowed to imagine such a life — Anne charted her own path. She crossed oceans, traveled thousands of miles by car, and arrived on a remote farm where she spent her days quietly observing giraffes as they grazed and interacted with one another, behaviors no one had ever documented before. With her journals, photographs, and rare color film, she captured a world that had never been seen so intimately, laying the foundation for an entire field of giraffe science.
It was the beginning of a story as unforgettable as the animals she loved.
She was first to study animals in the wild
Four years before Jane Goodall began her studies of chimpanzees in Africa, Anne Dagg was in the field with giraffes. The only other field observation prior to Anne’s work was a Scottish study of deer.
It takes an adventurer’s heart.
The logistics required to arrange and undertake this trip can be hard to imagine from our place here in the twenty-first century.
Anne wrote to several people in Africa to inquire about having a place to live and study the giraffe. After several rejections, she began signing her letters with only her first initial rather than her name. After all, A Innes could easily be an Andrew or Alexander. And of course, everyone naturally assumed that a scientist seeking such an arrangement must be a man, right?
After finally getting a positive response from Mr. Matthews, Anne shares her full name in a follow-up letter. Then, before he could rescind the invitation (his wife and daughter were living away at the time and he feared the impropriety of having a young woman living there without chaperones), Anne was already on a ship headed across the ocean. (Can you imagine jumping on a ship and heading halfway around the world on such flimsy arrangements?!)
Once in Africa, Anne drives over 1,000 miles from the port to the Fleur de Lys ranch in a small car she had purchased to use during her time in the country. Camelo (the name she gave the car, after the giraffe species name Camelopardalis), though mostly reliable, broke down five miles from the ranch. By this time, it was dark. And if you’ve ever been away from civilization in the dark, then you can certainly imagine exactly how dark it must have been out there.
Do you know what she did next?
She got out and started walking. In the dark. No moon and no electric light. Thinking about the lions, snakes, and other predators that could be surrounding her in the dark. But she was not to be deterred. Luckily someone from the ranch happened to drive by soon after she started walking and drove her the rest of the way to the ranch.
Bravery and guts. Tenacity and spirit.
This sums Anne up perfectly.
A Pioneer of Field Observation
Anne settles in and begins her daily routine of driving out into the ranchland and watching the giraffe for hours on end. She kept meticulous notes of everything she saw and even filmed the giraffe using Mr. Matthews’ video camera. She soon learned staying in the car made her invisible to the giraffe, giving her better data on the behaviors that had never been documented before.
Since she was essentially the first, with no scientific roadmap to follow, Anne was inventing methods of wildlife field study.
Years later Anne reflects in her memoir, Pursuing Giraffe, on being first.
Later, I realize that I seem to be the first person to come to Africa to undertake a long-term scientific study of an animal. At the time this doesn’t even occur to me, since I am only interested in my animal, the giraffe, and have no way of knowing that other people might be interested in studying other species. I never imagine that eventually thousands of zoologists will stream into the continent, intent on earning graduate degrees and scientific papers that will make their careers. Being first does not necessarily pay off, because I was never able to find a permanent job in zoology, unlike most of my successors.
The journals, notes, photos, and film gathered by Anne became a treasure trove of information for other scientists, for years to come. It was the foundation of giraffe science.
After about 4 months studying the giraffe at Fleur de Lys, Anne sets off on a tour of Africa which includes a daring trek to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro, which she successfully summits.
Returning home
After a successful and exhilarating year spent in Africa, Anne met up with her fiance in England and got married then returned home to earn her PhD and work at the university. Unfortunately, she met many obstacles in her attempt to become a tenured professor.
“I had worked as hard as I could while at the University of Guelph: my teaching record was very good and my research productive. It was therefore a nightmare when, without being asked for any documentation of my research or for my students’ evaluations of my teaching, I was told that I was denied tenure and would have to leave my job. I appealed the decision, fighting it where possible, but without success. My primary problem seemed to be that I was a woman.”
After being denied tenure, Anne was unemployed for four years. She fought a long drawn-out battle against the university for unfair practices but was ultimately denied. It was time to pivot.
Switching Career Paths
At this point, Anne began to work on writing books. The need to publish in journals no longer applied and she hoped that the books would provide income. Initially, the income was minimal but over the years, it became a good source of money for her.
In 1976, Anne published the book that would become known as the Giraffe Bible – The Giraffe: Its Biology, Behavior and Ecology. (Bookshop/Amazon)
In the 1970s, Anne’s work was centered around biology studies, publishing, and working as a Resource Teacher for the Independent Studies Program at University of Waterloo.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Anne’s work shifted and she began to focus on women’s issues.
“I want to improve the lives of individual women and help more women attain positions of power which should result in a more compassionate society.”
Returning to Giraffes
After multiple decades out of the field, Anne was sought out by giraffologists and celebrated for her work.
Anne’s memoir, Pursing Giraffe, inspired a documentary, The Woman Who Loves Giraffes. And as seen in the film, Anne was able to return to Africa and see the giraffe she loves, in the wild once more. In 2021, Anne published her autobiography, Smitten by Giraffe, as a follow-up to her first book which focuses on her life back in Canada after her time in Africa.
Listen to this podcast episode to get the story of Anne Dagg.
Watch the trailer for The Woman Who Loves Giraffes–
The documentary about Anne Innis Daggs covers not only her lifelong love of giraffes but also digs into the story of how she was eventually driven out of academia by sexist discrimination.
What I Love Most About Anne’s Story
After discovering Anne’s story in a podcast (The Secret Lives of Giraffes), I watched the documentary (twice!) and read her first memoir, Pursuing Giraffe. Here’s what sticks out to me about her story.
Anne was a fearless trailblazer. She knew what she wanted and made it happen. Despite the sexism of the times, Anne pursued her desired subject through college and out into the field. She was raised to think of herself as a person, rather than as a woman. “I’m thankful to my mother for allowing me to be a person rather than a woman.” As a teen, she also perceived life as a woman as not much fun and so pursued life differently. “Women, for me, were obviously people who didn’t do very interesting things — I certainly didn’t want to be thought one of them. I planned a more exciting future for myself than women had.”
The year she spent traveling and living in Africa were remarkable. The vast distances covered, the slow pace of communication at the time (letters would take weeks to arrive), and the adventures she undertook were unusual. She bought a car and drove through several countries. She took trains and busses. She even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and successfully summited. Even today, this would be momentous. But she did it all 70 years ago.
Anne and Mr. Matthews formed a close friendship that lasted the rest of their lives. His generosity in allowing her to stay at Fleur de Lys and use his camera equipment were key to her studies both in Africa and continued research and data analysis once back in Canada. Thanks to him, not only did Anne have valuable footage to work with, but we also can enjoy the clips included in the documentary.
She faced an unfair, sexist work environment where she was unappreciated, even after earning her PhD in just two years. Though the university eventually offered an official apology (more than 30 years later) but her supervisor was quoted in the documentary as unapologetic even now. Chauvinistic to the end, that guy was. I love that she fought for women all her life despite the obstacles thrown in her way. “It [the tenure decision process] was a very critical and judgmental process. You were playing with people’s futures.”
Waiting until 2006 to write her first memoir, Pursuing Giraffe, allows for the perspective that comes from the passage of time to really shine. She reflects on her experiences, what she thought at the time (including topics such as apartheid), and how things have changed in the last fifty years. This perspective makes the book stronger, in my opinion.
I love that she was rediscovered and brought back into the giraffology community. She was able to receive the recognition that was due to her and also spend time with her beloved giraffe again. She made a couple trips back to Kenya to see giraffe in the wild once again. Anne passed away in 2024 but felt the love from fans before she passed.
“I was the little girl that woman was a hero for. It was important to me that we be able to find her.”
“Anne’s book was the only book that you could find. It’s just the bible to giraffe, really.”
“She thought she was forgotten and she founded the study of giraffe biology.”
“I never really thought about it, me being a woman. They thought about it all the time, I think.”
Do yourself a favor and dig in to Anne’s story. Watch the movie. Read her books. Explore her website. You won’t regret it.
Resources:
- Anne Innis Dagg Foundation website – extensive biography and photos of Anne’s life. Events, merch, and even a Junior Giraffe Club. Their mission is to promote harmonious coexistence of humans and wildlife through the integration conservation and education.
- The Woman Who Loves Giraffes documentary – screening options and movie trailer
- The Secret Lives of Giraffe podcast episode of The Wild – brief introduction to Anne’s story
- Too little, too late? – article about Anne finally getting her overdue recognition
- Namibia Cam on YouTube – has multiple live cameras running of life on the Savannah
- Read Anne’s books: Pursuing Giraffe (memoir of time spent in Africa) and Smitten by Giraffe (her autobiography)
Enjoy this clip of a giraffe at sunset in Namibia.
Read Anne Innis Dagg’s Story
Read my other giraffe posts
Giraffes – Towering Above the Rest
West with Giraffes book review
Buy a Giraffe Bookmark Too!
Check out these cute giraffe bookmarks I made! You can get a copy in my Etsy shop.
More Giraffe Books!
Check out the giraffe section in my Bookshop shop to see more fun books about giraffes.
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