"Then she was off to South Africa!
Soon after that ship landed - two months
after she had left home - Anne found out
that Mr. Matthew's ranch was still a
thousand miles away. No trains or buses
went anywhere near it.
So Anne bought herself an old car. She
named it Camelo, short for the scientific
name for giraffes."
When Anne Innis was born in Canada in 1933, her future was mapped out for her. Girls at the time were expected to settle for a life as wife and mother. There were many things she was not allowed to do. All that she really wanted to do was travel to Africa and see giraffes. She had loved them her whole life, and wanted to see them up close enough to study their traits and habits. Then, she would tell others about them.
She saved the money she would need and set sail for Africa. It was a more arduous trip than she had imagined. Leaving the man she loved behind, she had arranged for a place to stay upon arrival. The man who had accepted her plea for a room to use while she studied her beloved giraffes did not know she was a woman, until she was on her way. He provided shelter, and became a good friend to Anne.
Anne gathered plentiful information and became a leading expert on giraffes. Upon her return to Canada, she married, had three children, and studied to earn her doctorate degree. Believing it would allow her to teach at a university, she was disappointed in the lack of acceptance for women in her field. She was denied her right to be a full-time professor because the prevailing thought was that a married woman ought to stay home and take care of her family. She sued the university, and began writing about the inequities that woman faced at the university level and in society.
After she had been back in Canada for 50 years, she returned to Africa to help those working with giraffes today in efforts to preserve her beautiful and endangered giraffes.
Kathy Stinson tells Anne's story in clear text, allowing readers to see the woman admired by so many today. Each page of text includes a footnote to further enhance the story being shared. A number of letters written to various people are included. Double-page spreads by Francois Thisdale feel almost photographic as they show the expanse of the African savanna and the events that filled Anne's life of learning.
Approaching her 89th birthday later this month, Anne remains a strong advocate for the protection of her beloved giraffes. You can visit her website and learn more about her.
https://thewomanwholovesgiraffes.com/
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