Field Team of the LuiKotale Bonobo Project

Coming from a small place in the Italian Alps, I am interested in interactions and interdependence of organisms sharing the same ecosystem. Likewise, am fascinated by the biologic and cultural diversity of adaptations to different ways of living. I studied at the University of Turin and have a Masters’ degree in Science of Natural Systems. With funding from Erasmus, I was involved in a program planning an ecological corridor for habitat colonization of the plumbeous warbler, Setophaga plumbea, a bird that is native to the islands of Guadeloupe and Dominica. For my MSc, I studied Indri lemurs (Indri indri) in Madagascar, a project that draw my attention to the urgent need of conservation at a place where local communities still depend on natural resources. After a nine-month research assistant appointment in LuiKotale in 2025, I am returning in January 2026 to set up a project to assess the bonobo population in a large landscape. In addition, I will study migratory birds visiting the savannah patches and fringe forests of the research site.

I am a master's student at the University of Montpellier with a strong interest in tropical ecology. After joining research teams from Universities in Finland and Mexico, and on Mayotte island, I am joining the LuiKotale field team in August to participate in botanical and mammal surveys, the habituation of bonobos at Ekongo, and an ongoing initiative aiming on collecting biological samples for population genetic studies. This work will strengthen my profile for future work in the field of applied conservation biology in general and the conservation of Great apes in particular.

Following a one-year stay in LuiKotale, I took a couple of months to recover from insect bites and the challenges from the daily routine. The first stay in the Congolese forest was amazing and I have learned so much about bonobo behavior and their forest habitat. Now, I am ready to join the field team for a second season, this time as a camp and research manager to take care of logistics and administration. Before coming to LuiKotale, I have worked several years in South America as a caretaker in an animal rescue center where I was in charge of the rehabilitation of primates. I like the combination of care taking and science because of its potential to promote nature conservation. 

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 mathematics with a minor in psychology and worked as a tour guide at Hannover Zoo during my studies. To combine my interest in analytical thinking with my fascination for animal behavior—especially primates—I recorded vocalizations of ring-tailed lemurs for my master's thesis and developed a deep learning model to automatically recognize, segment, and classify these vocalizations. In doing so, I not only discovered my love for field research, but also felt the desire to do something to protect endangered species. In March, I will join the field team and contribute to the long-term data collection of LuiKotale bonobos.

I obtained my bachelor’s degree in biology in 2024 at Leiden University, Netherlands, where I learned the basics of scientific research. During this broad study, I swiftly learned that I preferred topics related to evolution, ecology, and behaviour in animals. My research project, focusing on the presence of native insect species on the invasive Japanese knotweed confirmed my interest in these fields. I then finished my master’s degree in biological sciences at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2026. It is during this study, where I found the field of behavioural ecology, which focuses on how the environment shapes animal behaviour. During this study I worked with captive chimpanzees in the Beekse Bergen zoo in the Netherlands, and with wild pygmy marmoset populations in the Ecuadorian Amazon. These experiences formed the base of my practical experience with primates. I am happy to join the LuiKotale Bonobo Project starting August 2026, where I hope to gain more practical experience before looking for a PhD position.

During my studies in Environmental Biology and Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, I discovered my passion for primatology. Using remote camera traps, I investigated the behavior and demography of an unhabituated population of Central African chimpanzees. After graduating, I spent my summer with the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project in Laikipia, Kenya, studying the reproductive behavior of olive baboons. I am excited to join the LuiKotale Bonobo Project in January 2026, where I will contribute to the long-term data collection. I hope to pursue graduate studies focused on how individualized social relations affect the life history of primates.

I studied Global Change Ecology at the University of Trieste (Italy) where I developed a strong interest in conservation biology and behavioral ecology. I have always been drawn to fieldwork and in June 2024 I had the chance to work for nine months in South Africa as a field assistant studying the behavior of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). This experience reinforced my passion for both, primate research and field work. From January 2026 onwards I will join the field team in LuiKotale to assist in a PhD project on male mating strategies.

I found my passion for primatology and behavioral research, specifically social interaction and cognition, while getting my BA/MS from Boston University. During this time, I had the opportunity to work in the BU Primate Ecology and Conservation lab studying juvenile development and maternal loss in orangutans. After graduating, I continued my work with those same orangutans at Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, as a research assistant collecting behavioral and photogrammetric data. I am excited to embark on the next step of my journey studying bonobos as a research assistant at LuiKotale starting in October 2026.

I studied Zoology and Marine Science at the University of Western Australia. After graduating I spent a field season working as a bat biologist in Indonesia which fostered an interest in working in rainforest After returning to Australia, I worked for an environmental consultancy for several years, conducting field surveys throughout the Western Australian outback. After a brief stint as an environmental advisor for a gold mine, I moved to Malawi for five months for bat conservation and research, where I contributed to a project investigating bats and diseases, and trained volunteers in bat survey techniques. I joined the LuiKotale field team in February 2025 to combine my interest in behavioural ecology with my love of working in rainforest. After resuming environmental consulting in Western Australia, I am very excited to return to LuiKotale in August 2026.