Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

adult chimpanzee cracking nuts being watched by two young chimps

Aging chimps lose their touch with tools

Age diminishes abilities, but some chimps continue to perform better than others

Snapshot Europe 2025

Join the effort to build a continent-wide snapshot of wildlife

Barbara Fruth standing in front of bonobos

Barbara Fruth awarded Cross of Merit

Bonobo researcher awarded Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Orangutans nap to make up for lost sleep

New study reveals that wild orangutans recover from sleep loss with daytime naps

Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

"We want to understand and predict animal decision-making in the natural world."

News

chimpanzee cracking nut with stone while two others watch

Wild chimps struggle with tool use in old age

July 15, 2025

Scientists studying a rare population of tool-using chimpanzees have found that aging can have a profound impact on their abilities—but not all chimps decline equally.

Snapshot Europe 2025

July 08, 2025

Scientists across Europe are invited to join the annual wildlife camera trapping project

Barbara Fruth awarded Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

June 27, 2025

Bonobo researcher receives Germany’s highest tribute given to individuals for services to the nation

News

Quick Links

Meet our researchers

Looking for a scientist? See an overview of the departments, groups, and topics at our research page.

IMPRS QBEE

The International Max Planck Research School for Quantitative Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution from lab to field

MaxCine

MaxCine is the centre for communication and exchange at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Events

From the PhD-Odyssey to Project Management

Sep 29, 2025 09:00 AM (Local Time Germany) - Sep 30, 2025 05:00 PM

University of Konstanz, Room: Y310 + Y311

Lange Nacht der Münchner Museen 2025

Oct 18, 2025 06:00 PM (Local Time Germany) - Oct 19, 2025 01:00 AM

Max-Planck-Haus am Hofgarten, Hofgartenstraße 8

Data Visualization with R - Mastering Visual Data Communication (online course)

Nov 11, 2025 09:30 AM (Local Time Germany) - Nov 27, 2025 05:30 PM

online

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Job Offers

No Vacancies

Further vacancies in German can be found on the German Job Offers page.

July 2025

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Rank and social context influence sleep in wild chimpanzees

Jul 1, 2025 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)

Cracking Capuchins: Investigation stone tool use by white-faced capuchin monkeys using camera traps

Jul 1, 2025 from 04:00 PM to 07:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

Scientific Writing (workshop)

Jul 3, 2025

Scientific Writing (workshop)

Jul 3, 2025

Social and Ecological Pathways in the Evolution of Learning Strategies: Insights from Primates and Beyond

Jul 4, 2025 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)

Getting Published and Mastering Peer Review (workshop)

Jul 7, 2025

Getting Published and Mastering Peer Review (workshop)

Jul 7, 2025

Courtship complexity: insights from Neotropical birds

Jul 8, 2025 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)

Leveraging Movement Data for Vulture Survival and Conservation

Jul 11, 2025 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)

Tracking the Pride: Integrating Technology and Traditional Knowledge to Study Lions in Semi-arid systems

Jul 15, 2025 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)

Sensory processing and decision making in a social context: From odors to swarm motion in insects

Jul 16, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

Quantifying adaptations of mammals to human-dominated landscapes

Jul 16, 2025 from 04:30 PM to 07:30 PM (Local Time Germany)

The defensive behaviour of honey bees (Apis mellifera): individuality, social regulation, and neural mechanisms

Jul 22, 2025 from 02:00 PM to 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)

The Neuroethology of Collective Decision-Making in the Desert Locust

Jul 24, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 01:00 PM (Local Time Germany)