Had such a great time talking about our work taking a classic gaze-following paradigm into the forest to measure social cognition in wild chimps!
Dr. Zarin Machanda Alexandra Rosati Isabelle Monroe #AABA2024

Had the best time sharing how juvenile baboons influence adult female sociality!

Absolutely thrilled that our paper on chimpanzee adult play is out now in Current Biology! 🎉 Here is a great summary of our findings by the paper’s lead (and overall very cool person) Kris Sabbi, PhD:

New research from KCP & Kris Sabbi, PhD! Mother-infant play is rare in non-humans, but chimpanzee mothers play with their infants even when food is scarce and other adults have stopped. Long-term data support the importance of play and mothers as play partners. cell.com/current-biolog…

How ecology shapes sociality:

In times of bounty, #chimpanzees like to play, but when the going gets tough, play goes away.

Except between mothers and infants!

Fab new study by Kris Sabbi, PhD & colleagues👇👇👇
cell.com/current-biolog…

A new study from Tufts anthropologists of wild chimps at play in Uganda's Kibale National Park finds that chimp moms continue to devote play time to their young, even as food becomes scarce.

now.tufts.edu/2024/03/14/imp…

The New Scientist on the latest research from KCP and Kris Sabbi, PhD. newscientist.com/article/242239…

Tomorrow is World Baboon Day. I expect the internet to be flooded with baboon pictures. Don't let the baboons down.

Pleased to share the published version of this paper on mountain gorilla sibling relationships, now online eLife - the journal! doi.org/10.7554/eLife.…

See the thread below for a summary and some pretty pictures:

Kanyawara male Lanjo was seriously wounded by a bushpig last month but has made a full recovery. Photo by James Kyomuhendo.

bring him BACK

This is Gimli, another one of my focal males. Although he looks sweet in this photo, he loves to ruin my day by running up and down hills and disappearing into vine tangles. #fieldwork #pleasestoprunning

Just look at this gorgeous hunka #chimpanzee ! Tuke is a Big Powerful MaleTM but he also likes to look thoughtful- as anyone who has ever studied him can tell you- this is his very typical contemplation pose. #FieldLife

One of my all-time favourite collaborators (despite being a Bruins fan) Ian Gilby and I wrote a fun review for a special issue that I co-edited with @alexgrosati another all-time favourite collaborator.

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

In April a new female, Zelensky, joined the Kanyawara community. She is already popular with the young males, including Winza, who takes her side in conflicts with resident females. Photo by Kris Sabbi, PhD.

Almost ten years later, Gola is still gifting me wonderful photographs and her firstborn #chimpfan ... krissabbi.weebly.com/1/post/2022/06… via Weebly

It's true that just about every chimp is my favorite- but Tongo is my favorite favorite chimp mom. I have loved watching her #chimpfant babies, including these two most recent ones, grow up over the years. #FieldLife

Happy #friyay y'all! I hope your weekend brings as much fun as a wild kiddo #chimpanzee enjoying the forest. 🎋🙊🌳

(Alt-text: a juvenile chimpanzee in the wild spinning in circles as they walk)

To celebrate #EarthDay , the #chimps asked me to share this short clip of them playing so you could enjoy the forest with them 🐵🌳🌍

(Video shows a mother chimp with her baby riding on her back chasing a juvenile around a tree playfully)

It me! Along with this inspiring list of other ECRs in primatology, I've been selected to join the Editorial Board of the AmJournalPrimatology. Congrats to everyone!