Anne Christine Innis Dagg (25 January 1933 – 1 April 2024) was a Canadian zoologist, feminist, and author of numerous books. A pioneer in the study of animal behaviour in the wild, Dagg is credited with being the first person to study wild giraffes. Her impact on current understandings of giraffe biology and behaviour were the focus of the 2011 CBC radio documentary Wild Journey: The Anne Innis Story, the 2018 documentary film The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, and the 2021 children's book The Girl Who Loved Giraffes and Became the World's First Giraffologist.
In addition to her giraffe research, Dagg published extensively about camels, primates, and Canadian wildlife, and she raised concerns about the influence of sociobiology on how zoological research was shared with the general public. She also researched and wrote extensively about gender bias in academia, drawing attention to the detrimental impact that anti-nepotism rules can have on the academic careers of the wives of male faculty members and to sexist academic work environments that fail to support female researchers.
Anne Christine Innis was born on 25 January 1933 in Toronto, Ontario. Her father, Harold Innis, was a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and her mother, Mary Quayle Innis, was an author of short stories and books about history.
As a child, Dagg attended Bishop Strachan School. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1955 with a BA in biology and was awarded a gold medal in recognition of her academic standing. She went on to earn a master's degree in genetics from the University of Toronto. Following field research in Africa, Dagg began a PhD in animal behaviour at the University of Waterloo, completing her studies in 1967.
Dagg published over 60 refereed scientific papers on such subjects as homosexuality, mammal behaviour, sociobiology, feminism, sexism at universities, and the rights of animals. She also wrote 20 books on related topics. Although best known for her research on the giraffe, Dagg studied other animals including camels, primates, and Canadian wildlife. She taught courses in mammalogy and wildlife management, among other topics, as an assistant professor with the Department of Zoology at the University of Guelph from 1968 to 1972. The remainder of her career was spent affiliated with the University of Waterloo's Integrated Studies program, later renamed Independent Studies. From 1986 to 1989, she served as the Academic Director of the program before transitioning to an academic advisor role.
Dagg's interest in Canadian wildlife arose in the late 1960s while teaching a course at the University of Guelph. She was surprised to discover how little research had been done on smaller mammals and birds, in favour of research on big game species in Ontario and British Columbia such as the caribou. In 1972, she founded Otter Press in Waterloo, Ontario. The first publication was Matrix Optics by her husband Ian Dagg, followed in 1974 by her own book on Canadian wildlife, Mammals of Waterloo and South Wellington Counties, which was co-written by C. A. Campbell.
Dagg also wrote about the gendered framing of animal behaviour. In 1985, she raised concerns about the impact of sociobiology in scholarly publications and reporting to the general public about the social behaviour of animals in her book Harems and Other Horrors: Sexual Bias in Behavioral Biology. Of particular concern was what she noted as an increase in the anthropomorphizing of animal behaviour such as inaccurate, human-based, language to describe animal behaviour such as female mating behaviour being described as coy or flirtatious.
In 1975, Dagg was recognized by the National Museum of Natural Sciences as part of an exhibit dedicated to their achievements in the natural sciences. She was awarded the Batke Human Rights Award in 1984 by the K-W Status of Women in recognition of her work in the fields of social justice and gender equality. Dagg received a Lane Anderson Award in 2017 in recognition of her non-fiction children's book 5 Giraffes, alongside author Caroline Fox. She donated the $10,000 prize that accompanied the award to giraffe conservation efforts. In 2019 Dagg was named an Honorary Member of the Canadian Society of Zoologists in recognition of her contributions to Canadian zoology.
Despite demonstrated academic achievement, Dagg was denied tenure at the University of Guelph in 1972 due to concerns about her qualifications. She claimed she was told by the Dean that she was denied tenure, in part, because she lived outside of Guelph with her family and was not involved in the community. Pointing to a strong research record, support from the student body, and the barring of women from participating on campus committees, Dagg called her treatment during the tenure review process "demoralizing" and framed the future of women in academia as "bleak" given the type of discrimination they face. Her academic ability was similarly questioned at the University of Waterloo where it was suggested there was no point in pursuing a position because she had a family and a husband to support them.
Dagg's research on giraffes and her experiences in South Africa during apartheid were featured on the CBC's radio series Ideas as part of the 2011 documentary Wild Journey: The Anne Innis Story by Sandy Bourque. The documentary was heard by Alison Reid, who later directed the 2018 documentary The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, chronicling Dagg's life, career and her recognized impact on the study of giraffes. The film includes interviews with members of the tenure review committee that rejected Dagg's application. The chair of the committee, Keith Ronald, stood by the decision to deny Dagg tenure explaining that despite being a good teacher, Dagg's research program, which at the time included 20 peer-reviewed publications, "hadn't been fully developed". Fellow committee member Sandy Middleton, who also appeared in the film, disagreed, framing the rejection as a "grossly unfair" example of an old boys network at work and was likely motivated by jealousy of Dagg's early career success. Following the release of the film, the University of Guelph issued a formal apology to Dagg and established the Dr. Anne Innis Dagg Summer Research Scholarship aimed at supporting the research of undergraduate women studying zoology or biodiversity.
On 27 December 2019, the office of Canadian Governor General Julie Payette announced that Dagg had been appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. She became invested in May 2022.
Dagg was referred to as "the Jane Goodall of giraffes" and was recognized as having made significant contributions to the study of giraffes. Dagg first became interested in giraffes as a young child while visiting Illinois' Brookfield Zoo with her mother.
During the mid-1950s Dagg traveled alone to South Africa to study the behavior of giraffes out of captivity. The trip was prompted by what she described in 1974 interview with the Toronto Star as a "tremendous urge to see giraffes roaming free, instead of being cooped up in zoos." She contacted government officials in various African countries requesting permission to study the animal in their natural habitat and received only rejections, some noting the work was not a suitable undertaking for a woman.
Ahead of the trip Dagg changed tactics by adjusting how her letters were signed. She contacted citrus farmer Alexander Matthew, who owned land near Kruger National Park in close proximity to roaming giraffes, to ask for permission to visit and study giraffes. Her request was granted based on the Matthew's assumption that the letter, signed A. Innis, was written by a man. Upon Dagg's arrival he told her she would have to return to Canada because allowing her to bunk with the male farmhands was, for him, out of the question. Rather than returning home she travelled to Grahamstown where she spent her time researching giraffes at the Rhodes University library. She began writing to Matthew multiple times a week for several weeks asking for permission to return. He eventually agreed, allowing her to stay in his family's home in exchange for clerical services over the course of her stay. In turn, Dagg was given access to 33,000 hectares of groves and bush frequented by 95 giraffes.