Field Team of the LuiKotale Bonobo Project

I am absolutely fascinated by great apes and their culture, and I have dreamt of working with our closest relatives in the wild since my childhood. I grew up in Pasadena, California, and gained my first experience working closely with animals at the Los Angeles Zoo, where I volunteered throughout high school and during my gap year. I moved to Massachusetts for college, and graduated with a biology degree from Williams College in June of 2025. For my senior thesis, I conducted research on two hybridizing species of field crickets. I investigated the history of their speciation and analyzed gene flow between the two species. In July, I joined the field team in LuiKotale to contribute to the collection of long-term data. Later on, I plan to pursue graduate studies in evolutionary biology, and I hope to continue working with primates in the field long into the future!

I am a naturalist and photographer focusing on research projects on birds and mammals. I have worked in a variety of habitats including sub-Antarctic and Arctic islands, savannahs, and tropical, boreal and temperate forests. I specialize in tree climbing, which allows me to get into the canopies of tropical forests and explore their diverse fauna. Combining this skill with photography gives me an unusual perspective on arboreal species and provides me with new information about their behavior and ecology.

I studied Conservation Biology at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar - Lagoa do Sino, Brazil), where I deepened my passion for primates and gained a strong understanding of community involvement in conservation. During my studies, I worked on mammal monitoring on campus and in nearby rural areas — a region with remnants of the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, two of Brazil’s most threatened biomes. These projects focused especially on the Black Lion Tamarin, an endangered native species and symbol of São Paulo State. I also led the Zoology Group (GEZ UFSCar LS), coordinating outreach and environmental education to raise local biodiversity awareness. My interests include behavioral ecology and ethnobiology, especially connecting scientific research with local knowledge. Since August 2025, I've been part of the LuiKotale Bonobo Project, working with a team whose mission aligns with my commitment to researching endangered primates and fulfilling my desire to contribute directly to field conservation.

I am a biologist with a background in behavioral and population ecology. I have a bachelors of science in zoology from North Carolina State University, I've studied monkeys in Costa Rica, worked previously as a research assistant in LuiKotale, conducted scat surveys with detection dogs across a variety of mammals in the Western United States, and spent the last year collecting long term data for the Mara Hyena Project. I am extending my time in Africa to return to LuiKotale and work with the bonobos of LuiKotale once more before moving on to graduate school.

After a bachelor's degree in biology, I traveled to Africa for the first time in 2015 to work at a chimpanzee sanctuary. I initially volunteered for six months, then returned to the sanctuary in 2018 to train the team of volunteers. I was involved with this organization for eight years. From November 2023 onwards I was Camp and Research Manager at the LuiKotale Bonobo Project for one year. In August 2025 I returned to LuiKotale to take over administrative tasks again.

I studied psychological science and English literature at the University of Vermont. During my undergraduate studies I had the opportunity to explore my passion for wildlife biology through extracurricular fieldwork and volunteering opportunities. Following graduation, I spent a year (July 2024 – July 2025) observing spotted hyena behavior with the Mara Hyena Project (based out of the Maasai Mara Reserve in southwest Kenya). My combined experiences have fostered a love and appreciation for conservation, ecology, and long-term behavioral data collection. I’m excited to explore these interests with the Luikotale Bonobo Project starting in August 2025.

I graduated from Ghent University in 2024 with a Master’s degree in Evolution and Biodiversity. During an exchange, I had the opportunity to study Ethology at the University of Stockholm. For my thesis, I observed zoo-housed chimpanzees, and conducted research on aggressive behaviour in chimpanzees and bonobos. I investigated how the development of aggression differs between these two species, and how this ties into their evolutionary history. Apart from primate behaviour, my interests include human evolution and science communication. In this context, I worked as a teacher for biology and maths. In December 2025, I joined the Luikotale Bonobo Project as a research assistant and I am thrilled to finally work with bonobos in the wild. Afterwards, I will continue my studies on great ape behaviour and evolution.