The Primate Research Centre is a partnership between the Department of Comparative Cognition, University of Neuchâtel and the Basle Zoo. The zoo hosts three species of great apes: Chimpanzees, Gorillas and Sumatra Orangutans, which allows us to work with all of them and conduct comparative studies.

© Zoo Bâle

We have installed several touch-screens and other technologies (e.g. eye-tracker) in the enclosures. The animals can work on these devices to obtain small food rewards, allowing us to explore a range of fundamental research questions on communication and social learning, cognition and decision-making processes.

© Zoo Bâle

The zoo environment also enables us to conduct research that requires face-to-face interactions with the animals.

One of the strong points of the center is that animals voluntarily participate in research experiments and are not separated from their social groups, allowing us to better respect their well-being and gather more naturalistic data.

© Pénélope Lacombe

Managers: Klaus Zuberbühler

Researchers involved: Sarah Brocard, Vanessa Wilson, Carla Pascual Guardia

Links:

Basel Zoo