Prior to the permanent fission, chimpanzees from different social clusters interacted

In a decades-long study, researchers have documented what appears to be the first observed “civil war” in wild chimpanzees.

The findings demonstrate that shifting social ties alone can fracture a once unified group and ignite sustained, deadly conflict among former allies. https://scim.ag/47QE8Qw

Ripple Effects: Social Turmoil Following Infant Kidnapping Attempts in Wild Geladas Graphical abstract illustrating the social consequences of infant kidnapping in wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada). The study monitors a 28-day period divided into a 14-day pre-kidnapping phase and ...

🚨 Our new publication deals with cases of repeated attempts of infant kidnapping in one of our groups of geladas, why could this happen and what consequences on group dynamics??
with @ceec-research.bsky.social 🐒
Open access here:

Already 3 months passed since my PhD thesis defense! I couldn’t be more grateful to my supervisors Elisabetta Palagi and Alban Lemasson, incredible jury members (Josep Call, Mariska Kret, Elodie Briefer, Andrea Ravignani) and all primates who shared the journey with me ❤️
@ceec-research.bsky.social

With a new year comes a new field season for the #APELANG team! Celebrating their first night in the forest 🐵
Welcome to the latest addition to the team @lucapedruzzi.bsky.social 😍
Looking forward to the next 3 years together !

Our new paper on yawn vocalizations in geladas is out on iScience!
Happy holidays to you all :)

OA here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@ethos-research.bsky.social @lucapedruzzi.bsky.social @leakeyfoundation.org

Our new publication is out and offers some interesting (and creepy) insights for the management of zoo-housed geladas! Yes, monkeys kidnap infants sometimes! Open access here: doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...
@geladasbridges.bsky.social 🐒

Go watch our brand new documentary! 🐒🇪🇹🇮🇹

New paper out by @lucapedruzzi.bsky.social, Alban Lemasson and collaborators on geladas agression, kidnapping and death 💀
Maybe not the casual reading while having your morning coffee…

doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...

Presenting 🐒 at the XXVIII International Congress of Ethology @behaviour2025.bsky.social in Kolkata, India 🇮🇳
@geladasbridges.bsky.social @ethos-research.bsky.social

Presenting our research on gelada flexible communication and emotion recognition during post-conflict interactions at #Behaviour2025
in Kolkata (India)! 🐒
@geladasbridges.bsky.social @ethos-research.bsky.social @behaviour2025.bsky.social

🚨 New paper out! We report encounters between wild geladas and free-roaming dogs in an unprotected area in Ethiopia, highlighting the behavioral adaptability of our amazing geladas! @ethos-research.bsky.social @leakeyfoundation.org
Free to read here: doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

🚨New paper alert! 🐵 We compared yawning in geladas vs hamadryas baboons and guess what? Differences in the sociobiology of the two species seem to be reflected in the expression of the behaviour OA here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
@ethos-research.bsky.social

Un article de vulgarisation dans The Conversation sur notre dernière recherche! @ethos-research.bsky.social 🐒

Mutual gaze and facial mimicry as drivers of shared engagement in macaque play fighting @lucapedruzzi.bsky.social et al. #OpenAccess doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

🚨Our study on mutual gaze and facial mimicry in rhesus macaques and their possible link to joint commitment is out!! :)
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

Mutual gaze and facial mimicry as drivers of shared engagement in macaque play fighting Human and nonhuman animals engage in complex joint actions, characterized by interactions where individuals coordinate their behaviours in space and t…

New paper alert! 🚨

Mutual gaze and facial mimicry as drivers of shared engagement in macaque play fighting!

A study lead by our own @lucapedruzzi.bsky.social, in collaboration with Alban Lemasson, Elisabetta Palagi and many others!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Check out this video on our new research! 🔊🐒
@lucapedruzzi.bsky.social @ethos-research.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Wild gelada monkeys detect emotional and prosocial cues in vocal exchanges during aggression Recognizing vocal behaviours intended to benefit others is a crucial yet understudied social skill. Primates with rich vocal repertoires and complex societies are excellent models to track the evoluti...

It’s finally out!! Our new study shows that wild geladas seem to recognize prosocial vocal affiliation to victims of aggression! A key insight into the evolution of empathy in primates 🔊🐒 @geladasbridges.bsky.social @ethos-research.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Life on the field 🐒

Yawn Contagion and Modality‐Matching in the Female‐Bonded Society of Geladas (Theropithecus gelada) Behavioral contagion is widespread in primates, with yawn contagion (YC) being a well-known example. Often associated with ingroup dynamics and synchronization, the possible functions and evolutionar...

Amazing end of the year!
🚨New publication 🚨Our new paper on multimodality in yawn contagion and on the centrality of female-female mirror responses in geladas is finally out! 🐒 free on the American Journal of Primatology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

🚨New paper! We found that in rhesus macaques spontaneous triadic affiliation after conflicts is common, increases with the victim-bystander bond and victim distress signals. This challenges traditional despotic-tolerant dichotomies🐒 free to read here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

It might look like I’m posing but I’m actually desperate trying to identify the too many geladas in front of me 😅
@geladas_bridges #fieldlife

Last week we presented first data from our @geladas_bridges project at the conference of the Italian Society for the study of Animal Behaviour @sie_etologia in Turin! Emotions and prosociality in vocal exchanges of wild geladas… so happy and proud 🐒 @EthosLabo @TheLeakeyFndtn

Last week I had the great opportunity of presenting the work we are doing at the @EFP_2024 in Lausanne #EFP2024 !yawn vocalizations in geladas, facial mimicry and mutual gaze in joint play in rhesus macaques… and more 🐒

🚨 New paper on rhesus macaque play fighting! 🐒 Discover how rapid facial mimicry in this despotic species is influenced by rank and linked to the emotional arousal of playmates! 🎭📊 very proud of this @bettapalagi @EthosLabo Open access here:

link.springer.com/article/10.100…

Kings and queens of the Ethiopian highlands 🇪🇹 @geladas_bridges

Pics by @bettapalagi

New paper! 🔊🐒 Did you know that apart from humans geladas are the only (known) mammal producing specific vocalizations while yawning? Through a playback experiment we discovered their possible function @bettapalagi @EthosLabo A Lemasson @M_Francesconi

nature.com/articles/s4159…

Not only #primates! Our new article on social play and affiliation in cattle is (finally!) out!🐮 We investigated whether fluctuations in the expression of social behaviours might relate to the animals' internal state! @bettapalagi#animalwelfare

link.springer.com/article/10.100…

Just come back from a preliminary mobility to Ethiopia for our collab. project between @Unipisa and @AddisAbabaUnive !
A lot of bureaucratic stuff… but also lots of amazing geladas in amazing landscapes!
Thanks to the PI @bettapalagi and to Dr. Bezawork Afework!

Just finished a data collection for my PhD on the gelada colony at Rheine NaturZoo (n=106, the largest in world zoos!😱) it was amazing and I’m very excited (and nervous about identification) to analyze all the video and acoustic data collected! @bettapalagi @Unipisa @EthosLabo