Smitten by Giraffe: My Life as a Citizen Scientist

Zoologist Dagg (Pursuing Giraffe: A 1950s Adventure; The Social Behavior of Older Animals) fell in love with giraffes at a young age and traveled to Africa in the 1950s to study them, on her own dime, implying that she was a man in order to secure lodging there. In her new memoir, the author shares this story and other escapades: analyzing the gaits of kangaroos in Australia, studying camels in Mauritania, and creating Otter Press in order to publish several of her works. She passionately recounts a lifetime of zoology field research and contributions to a lengthy list of publications, including numerous refereed journal articles. Despite her successful track record and professorship at several universities, Dagg was passed over for tenured positions in academia. She was never given serious consideration, because, she was told, a woman's place is in the family. As a result, she worked tirelessly as an advocate for women's and animal rights, even refusing to do research on animals if it might cause them harm. Readers will be moved by Dagg's prodigious scholarship, as she remained undeterred even after experiencing stinging discrimination.