Kayla W. T. Kolff

From a young age I have always adored animals. Initially I wanted to become a vet, though that meant that I would occasionally be required to carry out surgeries and that made me squeamish. So that ambition ended for me but I still really wanted to work with animals. I then switched to studying animal behaviour during my bachelor and master studies, predominantly focusing on chimpanzee behaviour.  After my master I had the opportunity to observe Western chimpanzees located in Taï National Forest in Cote d'Ivoire. Seeing them in their natural habitat made me realise even more that I wanted to continue observing them. I went on to complete a PhD, which allowed me to return to studying chimpanzees – this time focusing on their communicative interactions. My research was based on Eastern chimpanzees at the Ngogo field site in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Now, as a postdoctoral researcher, my work is shifting toward understanding chimpanzee behaviours in relation to prosociality and social transmission.