Podcast Episode 6
Giraffes with Anne Innis Dagg and Mary Dagg
Giraffes with Anne Innis Dagg and Mary Dagg
In this episode of What the f*** is biodiversity, Ann, Anne and Mary talk about the beautiful and gentle Giraffe along with Anne’s amazing experiences researching their behaviour in the wild. They also talk about the challenges she faced as a woman in academia, how her daughter Mary is currently working to help protect Giraffes and their thoughts on the decline of global biodiversity.

About Anne Innis Dagg
Dr. Anne Innis Dagg is a pioneering zoologist, groundbreaking biologist, animal rights activist, feminist, teacher and mother of three. The youngest child of renowned academics Harold Innis and Mary Quayle Innis, Anne earned her BA with Honours in Biology (1955) and her MA in Genetics (1956) at the University of Toronto as well as her PhD in Animal Behaviour (1967) at the University of Waterloo.
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. In 2018, an award-winning documentary about her life story was created titled: The Woman Who Loves Giraffes.
Her honours include being named one of the top eight women biologists in Canada (1975); received the Pioneer Award from the Association of Giraffe Care Professionals (2010); the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Giraffid Conference (2016); was named the 2018 Canadian Eco-Hero at Planet in Focus (2018) and received the Women of Influence Award from the Zonta Club (2018). Anne was featured in “Courage and Passion: Canadian Women in Natural Sciences” at the Canadian Museum of Nature (2018). In 2019, the Dr. Anne Innis Dagg Scholarship for Summer Research was created at the University of Guelph, she is an Honorary Member of the Canadian Society of Zoologists and an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, was awarded for her Exceptional Public Service by the Canadian Consulate and was awarded the Laurence J Burpee Medal of Honour from The Royal Canadian Geographic Society. Most recently she received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto, was appointed to the Order of Canada by the Governor General and was honored as a Giraffe Hero by The Giraffe Heroes Project.

About Mary Dagg
Mary Dagg is Anne’s daughter and the Senior Director of Finance at a large Bay Street law firm. She has taken a leave of absence from her job, dedicating herself for the next year to her mother and her mother’s work. She jokes that she did not inherit her mother’s biology gene. She accompanied Anne on her trip back to Fleur De Lys in South Africa and has been by her side when Anne received the Order of Canada, her honorary doctorate at the University of Waterloo and many screenings and special events for the award-winning documentary based on Anne’s life, The Woman Who Loves Giraffes.
About Anne Innis Dagg

Dr. Anne Innis Dagg is a pioneering zoologist, groundbreaking biologist, animal rights activist, feminist, teacher and mother of three. The youngest child of renowned academics Harold Innis and Mary Quayle Innis, Anne earned her BA with Honours in Biology (1955) and her MA in Genetics (1956) at the University of Toronto as well as her PhD in Animal Behaviour (1967) at the University of Waterloo.
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. In 2018, an award-winning documentary about her life story was created titled: The Woman Who Loves Giraffes.
Her honours include being named one of the top eight women biologists in Canada (1975); received the Pioneer Award from the Association of Giraffe Care Professionals (2010); the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Giraffid Conference (2016); was named the 2018 Canadian Eco-Hero at Planet in Focus (2018) and received the Women of Influence Award from the Zonta Club (2018). Anne was featured in “Courage and Passion: Canadian Women in Natural Sciences” at the Canadian Museum of Nature (2018). In 2019, the Dr. Anne Innis Dagg Scholarship for Summer Research was created at the University of Guelph, she is an Honorary Member of the Canadian Society of Zoologists and an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, was awarded for her Exceptional Public Service by the Canadian Consulate and was awarded the Laurence J Burpee Medal of Honour from The Royal Canadian Geographic Society. Most recently she received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto, was appointed to the Order of Canada by the Governor General and was honored as a Giraffe Hero by The Giraffe Heroes Project.
About Mary Dagg

Mary Dagg is Anne’s daughter and the Senior Director of Finance at a large Bay Street law firm. She has taken a leave of absence from her job, dedicating herself for the next year to her mother and her mother’s work. She jokes that she did not inherit her mother’s biology gene. She accompanied Anne on her trip back to Fleur De Lys in South Africa and has been by her side when Anne received the Order of Canada, her honorary doctorate at the University of Waterloo and many screenings and special events for the award-winning documentary based on Anne’s life, The Woman Who Loves Giraffes.
Episode Notes
MORE ABOUT ANNE INNIS DAGG
- Anne Innis Dagg (AID) Foundation
- Anne Innis Dagg’s Books, Good Reads
- Anne Innis Dagg’s Research Publications, Research Gate
- Anne Innis Dagg, Canadian Encyclopedia
- The ‘Jane Goodall of giraffes’ lived most of her life in relative obscurity. At 86, Anne Innis Dagg is getting her moment in the spotlight., The Lily
- The curious, extraordinary life of Anne Innis Dagg, Canadian Geographic
GIRAFFE FACTS
- Giraffe Facts, AID Foundation
- I wrote the bible on giraffes – now I realize facts were wrong by Anne Innis Dagg, Globe and Mail
- Giraffe, San Diego Zoo
- Giraffes: The Forgotten Giant, The Nature of Things
FLAGSHIP SPECIES
- Know your flagship, keystone, priority and indicator species, World Wildlife Fund
- Flagship Species, Science Direct
WOMEN IN ACADEMIA STATS
- Pioneering biologist Anne Innis Dagg gets her due, University Affairs
- Women in Academia: Quick Take, Catalyst
- Canadian universities must stop undervaluing female academics, Globe and Mail
- Are women publishing less during the pandemic? Here’s what the data say, Nature