Aaron Sandel

Assoc Prof in Anthro @UTAustin; wild #chimpanzees in #Uganda with @ngogochimps; finding humor in humans & other hominoids

[Gladys K Zikusoka @DoctorGladys]

Have you all seen this discussion going around about whether 100 men could bring down a gorilla and vice versa?😅 Such a random debate! People have been asking me to share my take as someone who has worked with gorillas for close to 30 years, so here I am!

Gorillas are five times as strong as a man. Though they are not naturally aggressive, gorillas will attack when provoked, especially when angry, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere near them. And if it’s a wild gorilla (not habituated to human presence), 100 men don’t stand a chance!!

So instead of 100 men trying to compete with one gentle majestic giant, why not make friends with the mighty silverback gorilla and become conservation heroes protecting our cousins with whom we share 98.4 percent of our genetic material? 💚🦍

Thank you, Lilly, for drawing me into this conversation.

#WalkingWithGorillas

@TourismBoardUg @4Apes @Gorillas_Org @CTPHuganda @GCCoffee1 @ctph_camp @ugwildlife @MTWAUganda

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

sometimes you think you're not making a difference as a professor, then you have moments like this

[Kaleb @cowboyKal3b]

Just remembered I have an actual degree specifically in monkeys and am uniquely qualified to address the 100 men vs 1 gorilla discourse

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

@cowboyKal3b true, but i usually require people to have a PhD before they call apes monkeys

[Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund @SavingGorillas]

Fun fact: It takes 100+ people just to protect a gorilla. You’re not beating one. Let’s save wildlife, not defeat it.

[Krista Milich @KristaMilich]

Was happy to Chair the first podium presentation session at #MPIG2023, which started with Riley Derby presenting some data on female social relationships in mountain gorillas in collaboration with @SavingGorillas and @aasandel.

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

@lisapbarrett Cool! (Who’s doing squirrels next?)

[Netflix @netflix]

To live in the jungle you must fight to survive.

Narrated by Mahershala Ali and from the co-director of My Octopus Teacher, Chimp Empire premieres April 19

[John Hawks @johnhawks]

Intriguing results from @aasandel examining bone biology in adolescent chimpanzees. It's long been assumed that the adolescent growth spurt in humans is a unique aspect of our life history, but maybe chimpanzees have something similar happening.
https://t.co/pmYNHEW8rw

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

Wild chimpanzees (at least males) seem to have an adolescent growth spurt in their skeleton https://t.co/2YrtdGHyEy

[PhyloPic.org @PhyloPic]

PHYLOPIC 2.0 IS OFFICIALLY RELEASED! Go check out the newer, faster, more useful PhyloPic here: https://t.co/fqfngyse1X

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

A group of great young field biologists are organizing a very important zoom panel. if you're a trans field researcher, please reach out to them! or share!

[Texas EEB Club @Texas_EEB]

We're looking for trans field researchers for an online Q&A panel!
Many of our members are trans and interested in pursuing a career in field research, but info is scant.
We're especially looking for transfeminine people & trans people of color.
Let us know if you are interested!

[UT Liberal Arts @LiberalArtsUT]

More than meets the eye: A new study from UT researchers suggests that chimpanzees and other mammals—not just humans—have light sclera or "whites of the eyes," a trait thought to be key to social communication.

https://t.co/8neasV93Ii

[New Scientist podcasts @NewScientistPod]

Planet of the Apes movies have been bashed for giving the chimps human-like eyes - featuring whites around the iris.

But @rowhoop says the films were right all along, and research from @aasandel shows chimps eyes DO have whites.

https://t.co/fNetCbIIUo

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

@RoseLinnPearl feel free to email for PDF: [email protected]; and that makes sense: sclera is a big part of the eye! we are referring to what's visible around iris. veterinary ophthalmologists are in a great position to think about these questions, too.

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

Mr. Worzle! The Gombe chimp with pronounced white sclera could be dismissed as an anomaly among 60 chimps. But when 5 or so Ngogo chimps have it, you start paying attention. Turns out ~15% of the 200+ chimps at Ngogo have some white or light sclera @ngogochimps

[Claudio Tennie @CTennie]

Look at the pic closely.

Once you notice, this paper should become of interest:
https://t.co/UXdT5xAMyn

(Pic by Geza Teleki)

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

@VogtCaleb Thanks for sharing, Caleb! And glad you got to observe some of those chimps with pronounced white sclera!

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

@CTennie @ThaliaWheatley @mmuthukrishna It would be cool to study subtle behavioral cues & whether there are different responses to those with white sclera...I doubt it makes a big difference in life (but some intriguing anecdotes, like 2/5 of the last alphas had white sclera)

[Aaron Sandel @aasandel]

this looks very cool and worthwhile!

[Liam Revell @phytools_liam]

Colleagues. @lukejharmon & I will be teaching a workshop on Phylogenetic Comparative Methods in #Rstats from Mar. 2-5, 2023 at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Travel & lodging expenses paid for all selected workshop participants. Please RT. https://t.co/3us5YhTtSx.

[The Primatecast @theprimatecast]

Dr. John Mitani on The PrimateCast: Origins! An audio rebroadcast of his talk at our @CICASP international primatology lecture series. https://t.co/x3kFEWKDTL @ngogochimps @KyotoU_News