Anne Christine Innis Dagg
It is with profound sadness that the family announces the sudden passing of Dr. Anne Innis Dagg (CM) on April 1, 2024, at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener, Ontario at the age of 91.
Anne spent 36 loving years together with her husband Ian Ralph Dagg until his passing in 1993. She leaves behind their children Hugh (Kate), Ian (Laura), Mary (Ian), grandson Nicholas and her brother Hugh. She is predeceased by siblings Donald and Mary. Anne is the daughter of renowned Canadian professor of political economy Harold Innis and writer and historian Mary Quayle Innis, who also served as dean of women at the University of Toronto’s University College.
Dr. Anne Innis Dagg was a pioneering zoologist, ground-breaking biologist, animal rights activist, feminist and professor. She 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 received worldwide recognition as the first western scientist to study giraffes in the wild in 1956. Her book Giraffe: Biology, Behaviour and Conservation (1976) is known as the bible of giraffes and is still used by scientists to this day. She is the author of over 60 scientific papers and 26 books including, Pursuing Giraffe: A 1950’s Adventure and The Fifty Per Cent Solution: Why Should Women Pay for Men's Culture?. Anne’s academic interests included giraffes and Africa, gaits of mammals, sexual bias in behavioural biology, feminism (especially in academia), sociobiology, animal behaviours, aggression, and human evolution.
Anne was appointed to the Order of Canada by the Governor General in 2019 and received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, McMaster University and Mount Saint Vincent University.
Her previous honours include being named one of the top eight women biologists in Canada (1975), the Pioneer Award from the Association of Giraffe Care Professionals (2010), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Giraffid Conference (2016). 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, an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, and awarded for her Exceptional Public Service by the Canadian Consulate. She received the Laurence J. Burpee Medal of Honour from The Royal Canadian Geographic Society and the Umvikeli Wildlife Protector Award 2022 from Wild Tomorrow Fund.
The incredible accomplishments and academic challenges in Anne’s life are most brilliantly summarized in the award-winning documentary, The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (2018), which brought her global attention as an advocate not only for giraffe conservation, but for gender equality in academia.
Anne is remembered by her family, friends and colleagues for her unbreakable spirit, infectious laugh, and steadfast determination. In 2020, Anne established the Anne Innis Dagg Foundation with her daughter Mary to continue her passion for conservation of giraffe in the wild and support for the communities that surround them.
In lieu of flowers, Anne has asked that people direct their donations to her foundation. As per Anne’s wishes there will be no funeral but her cremated remains will be spread on the breeding grounds of her beloved giraffes when her daughter Mary returns to South Africa this summer.
Messages and condolences may be left for the family at www.tricitycremations.com or 519.772.1237. Please visit Anne’s obituary notice on Facebook.