The Canadian woman who loved giraffes so much that she studied them for years in Africa is being honoured in a new Heritage Minutes short film.
Historica Canada released the video featuring the late Anne Innis Dagg of Waterloo, Ont., on Thursday morning.
Dagg was a zoologist and wrote a number of books, including one considered the bible on giraffes after her work in Africa. She died last year at age 91.
Her daughter, Mary Dagg, CEO of the Anne Innis Dagg Foundation, said the family was approached by Historica Canada in the fall of 2024 about producing a short film about a Canadian female scientist that more people should know about about.
“And I’m like, ‘Hell yeah,'” said Mary. “This is a phenomenal opportunity for people to get to know more about what my mom has done.”
The new Heritage Minute highlighting Dagg was launched as part of Women’s History Month in Canada.
Anthony Wilson-Smith, president and CEO of Historica Canada, told CBC News that the late zoologist epitomized all the qualities they look for in a Heritage Minute.
“She overcame adversity to make a lasting mark on the world stage in a very specific area,” said Wilson-Smith.
“And she did so with grace and dedication throughout. She is someone all Canadians should know, as a source of great pride.”
WATCH | Historica Canada’s new Heritage Minute about Anne Innis Dagg:
In the description under the YouTube video, Historica Canada notes that despite being an expert and leading authority on giraffes, “Dagg struggled to receive a permanent teaching position despite being well qualified. She later advocated for gender equality, particularly in academia.”
A documentary from stuff in the attic
Dagg was the subject of the 2018 documentary The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, which was directed by Alison Reid. Reid was also hired as the director of the Heritage Minute featuring Dagg.
Reid first approached Dagg in the mid-2010s about making a theatrical movie about her life after listening to a CBC show featuring the zoologist.
But a visit to Dagg’s house changed her mind.
“In the attic was all kinds of stuff, and my mom’s a total pack rat. She kept everything,” said her daughter Mary.
“My mother was saying, ‘Look, I’ve got old [film] footage from the 1950s.’ Allie [Reid] would go upstairs and [my mom] would see her walking out with boxes … And then Ali said, ‘You know what? This is a documentary, we have so much material here. This is fantastic. Let’s go for a documentary.’ And that’s when she shifted the gears.”
Mary said it took five years to make the documentary, and that included trips back to Africa for interviews with her mother, other giraffe experts and people who were at the university where her mother didn’t receive tenure.
Mary hopes the Heritage Minute will inspire people to take action and get involved in caring for their world.
“Whatever that action would be — to get out in nature, join a club, get involved,” she said.
“The message to me is this is somebody who said, ‘I love this and I’m going to I’m going to travel to the other side of the globe if I have to.’ That kind of passion and that move forward, I would love people to take away in a big picture wise.”
The Morning Edition – K-W11:48Waterloo’s Anne Innis Dagg honoured with new Heritage Minute
Anne Innis Dagg, the woman from Waterloo who loved giraffes, is being featured in a new Heritage Minute. Her daughter Mary Dagg talks about her mother’s legacy and what this Heritage Minute means.
