 Research
“The greatest difficulty which presents itself, when we are driven to the above conclusion on the origin of man, is the high standard of intellectual power and moral disposition which he has attained.”
Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man (1871)
In other words, what makes us human?
Vanessa is part of the Hominoid Psychology Research Group
which compares the psychology of humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos.
Our aim is to find the differences between us and our closest living relatives, which will hopefully give us the key to what makes us human.
Bonobos are especially important to this question because we know hardly anything about them. Bonobos are an extremely endangered ape (less than 15,000 left in the wild) that only lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo which for the past 10 years has been torn apart by civil war. Chimpanzees live in violent male dominated societies. Sexual coercion and infanticide are common, as is war. Bonobos however, are peaceful and female dominated. There is no infanticide, sex is used to resolve all kinds of conflict, and bonobos do not have war.
The question is, how much of us is chimpanzee, how much is bonobo, and how much belongs just to us, as humans?
We do most of our research in African sanctuaries, particularly Ngamba Island in Uganda, Tchimpounga chimpanzee sanctuary in the People’s Republic of Congo, and most importantly Lola ya bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We believe studying apes in Africa is a fantastic alternative to biomedical centers. Apes in sanctuaries live a more natural life and are mentally healthier than biomedical apes. Research money helps the sanctuaries, Africans, and of course the apes themselves.
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Research topics