John C. Mitani

John Mitani is a primate behavioral ecologist who investigates the behavior of our closest living relatives, the apes.  His current research involves studies of a large community of wild chimpanzees that has recently split at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda.  During the past 45 years, he has conducted fieldwork on the behavior of all five kinds of apes: gibbons and orangutans in Indonesia, gorillas in Rwanda, bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and chimpanzees in Uganda and Tanzania.  In his work, he addresses questions about ape social behavior and vocal communication. 

Research Areas(s)

• primate behavioral ecology
• animal behavior