Very lucky to have spent earlier this year 3 months in the forest with the amazing Ngogo chimps (Kibale, Uganda) for my postdoc! @ceec-research.bsky.social here with Penelope’s family 🍃

I compiled a list of 350 #funding opportunities for #postdoctoral research #fellowships: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J2M_tQgoqV4ivpfEClh9qs9f2KQN2O1G3Jpda2aoHfQ/edit?usp=sharing I realized I should share this again after mentioning it to some folks at the #EFP2026

It was a great week in Montpellier at #EFP2026 and I also had the chance to present my results on the communicative sequences used by geladas to solve their ingroup conflicts… stay tuned 🤝🏽🐒 @efp2026.bsky.social @ceec-research.bsky.social @geladasbridges.bsky.social

From cooperation to conflict: Liran’s keynote explored how chimpanzees and bonobos reveal the evolutionary roots of cooperation, group identity, tolerance, and violence, offering new insights into the social foundations of human behaviour. 🧠🐒 #EFP2026

🧪ETHOLOGY: What happens after an infant kidnapping attempt in a primate society? 🐒🙈🙉🙊 A rare observation in wild geladas revealed that attempts to abduct a newborn triggered social changes. Grooming networks became denser and more reciprocal, while aggression increased: doi.org/10.1111/eth....

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 ...

doi.org

Very grateful to receive the Marconato–Marchesini Prize for research on evolutionary biology and species conservation for my PhD thesis by the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti 🐒 (in a wonderful venue in Venice!) @geladasbridges.bsky.social @ceec-research.bsky.social

New paper 🚨 We analyzed 2500+ yawns from nearly 200 geladas across wild and captive groups, and found that their unique multimodal (“loud”) yawns may signal heightened emotional arousal! OA 📄 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @asab.org @ceec-research.bsky.social @geladasbridges.bsky.social

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

🚨 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:

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 ...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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! 🐒🇪🇹🇮🇹

Geladas For Cooperation@geladasbridges.bsky.social · 10mo ago

We are so happy to tell you that finally our documentary about our project🇪🇹 has been released on YouTube. We hope you’ll find some time to watch it, to learn about our adventures and the wonderful work we are doing ❤️ Huge thanks to Alberto Alessi for making this possible! WATCH IT!

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 🐒

The Conversation France@france.theconversation.com · last yr.

L’empathie n’est pas le propre de l’humain : ces singes utilisent des signaux vocaux pour se réconforter

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...

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...

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…

sciencedirect.com

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

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...

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...

journals.plos.org

Life on the field 🐒

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....

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...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

🚨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