Studying wild apes to understand what it means to be human

Group leader

Prof. Kathelijne Koops

Professor, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich

I am a primatologist and biological anthropologist interested in the evolutionary origins of ape behaviour, including our own. My research focusses on tool use and culture and involves field work with wild apes across the African continent. I am the co-director of the Nimba Chimpanzee Project in Guinea and of bonobo research at Wamba in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I direct the SNSF-funded Comparative Human and Ape Technology (CHAT) Project, which investigates the influence of ecology and sociality on the development and evolution of tool use. The CHAT project compares chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and humans. We aim to identify the processes driving the use of technology across species and, in turn, shed light on the question What makes us human?

Find me on Twitter | ResearchGate | Google Scholar

post-doctoral researchers


Ph.D. Students


M.Sc. Students


RESEARCH ASSOCIATES


project collaborators


Research assistants


Nimba Team


 

Join the lab

Are you curious, love working in the field, and passionate about great apes?

 
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