Vesta Eleuteri
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vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Vesta Eleuteri
@vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
200 followers 200 following 30 posts
PhD | Exploring elephant gestures & chimp drumming and gestures |
Elephant conservation at Marataba Conservation
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vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Vesta Eleuteri @vestaeleuteri.bsky.social · Jan 31
Just started to migrate here from Twitter! I usually post about my research on animal communication or my days in the field following elephants 🐘
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
katzyna.bsky.social
“Restoration isn't just about bringing animals back, it's about bringing back what they do," says Ty Loft, lead author of new research on decreasing trophic energy flows suggesting collapse of ecosystem functions by animals like primates & terrestrial herbivores in Africa phys.org/news/2025-10...
Africa's wildlife has lost a third of its natural 'power', study warns
Africa's ecosystems are running on less than two-thirds of the natural energy they once had, according to new Oxford-led research published today in Nature. The study reveals a dramatic loss of wildli...
phys.org
November 1, 2025 at 10:23 AM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Elephant Dream 2025 - Females are more wary here in Marataba. Although we were with them for a while, these females seem to start forming a coalition against us here to warn us before crossing the road. So we talked gently to them to reassure them we weren’t a threat
October 31, 2025 at 5:40 PM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Elephant Dream 2025 - Yesterday we had a large elephant gathering at the river. We observed them for hours playing, swimming, greeting, affiliating and sometimes even aggressing each other. Elephants are such complex beings where social gatherings shape their deeply social lives.
October 20, 2025 at 7:16 PM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Yesterday we ended up being surrounded by our big boys. Here we had a magical elephant encounter up close. The Mountain wanted to go past our car but we couldn’t move as there were other males a few meters ahead so he gently passed by us ❤️.
October 15, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
kojamf.bsky.social
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
October 5, 2025 at 9:08 AM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Days 1 and 2 of 🐘 fieldwork:

-Flat tyre ✅
-Got stuck in sand and had to dig out the car for an hr while checking our backs for lions/ellies ✅
-Mozambican spitting cobra under our wheel ✅
-Got lost at night in the park ✅
-Amazing rhino encounters: also ✅
September 28, 2025 at 5:25 AM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
👋 Back in the field! Stay tuned for regular posts about our adventures following elephants 🐘❤️
September 25, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
animbehsociety.bsky.social
Do you love research & writing & all things animal behavior? Well our journal, Animal Behavior, recruiting up to 5 (count em!) new Associate Editors!

Editors serve three-year terms beginning January 2026. If you're interested, email Exec Editor Scott Sakaluk (sksakal@ilstu.edu) by Oct 31!
ron burgundy from parks and recreation says " you 'd be a fool not to pick me "
ALT: ron burgundy from parks and recreation says " you 'd be a fool not to pick me "
media.tenor.com
September 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
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darrencroft.bsky.social
We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...
September 23, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
scbeurope.bsky.social
🚨 First call! 🚨

European Congress for Conservation Biology (Leiden, the Netherlands in July 6th to 10th 2026) is open for proposals: symposia, panels, workshops & training on effective biodiversity conservation.

Deadline Oct 31st 2025 👉 eccb26Leiden.eu #ECCB2026
September 18, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
simonhedges.bsky.social
Analysis of habitat connectivity and aggregation suggested that more than half of global #forests have become more fragmented over the past two decades, painting a picture of widespread forest degradation beyond the direct effects of #habitat loss

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Fragmentation increased in over half of global forests from 2000 to 2020
Habitat fragmentation, in which contiguous forests are broken into smaller, isolated patches, threatens biodiversity by disrupting species movement, shrinking populations, and altering ecosystem dynam...
www.science.org
September 13, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
louisemackie.bsky.social
Thank you #behaviour2025 for hosting my talk on overimitation in dogs, the topic of ManyDogs 2! 🐶
@manydogsproject.bsky.social

We are collecting data now in dog labs across the world! Email manydogsproject2@gmail.com / check out our website below to join!

manydogsproject.github.io/manydogs2.html
August 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social
It's not all about size. New research on female #gorillas challenges the male power narrative. Study by @nikos.ecoevo.social.ap.brid.gy & Martha Robbins now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social. #primates @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social @utu.fi More: tinyurl.com/y778faw2 & www.cell.com/current-biol...
It's not all about size
Female gorillas challenge the male power narrative
tinyurl.com
August 8, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
mckinneymonkey.bsky.social
Do the words we choose influence our relationships with other animals? 🧪 #academicsky

news.mongabay.com/2025/08/its-...
It’s time to update the language of human-wildlife interactions (commentary)
Language shapes the way we view our world. In the field of wildlife conservation, even very subtle word choices drive peoples’ perceptions around individual species or situations. These word choices c...
news.mongabay.com
August 15, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
wildbehaviorpod.bsky.social
🐘 HAPPY WORLD ELEPHANT DAY! 🐘

If you're curious about these hugely intelligent gentle giants check out our ele ep:
open.spotify.com/episode/7kJT...

And our 'meet the hosts' ep:
open.spotify.com/episode/4piX...

Spotify or wherever you get your pods!
Photo: Rachel Dale
#elephant #SciComm
A photo of a male African elephant walking.
August 12, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
elisecutts.bsky.social
The scientists who convinced someone to pay them to study cockatoo dance moves are the true winners

"...it's possible the birds just didn’t like Avicii, the researchers suggest." 😂🧪
Video reveals cockatoos have 30 unique dance moves—including headbanging
Researchers now know why the caged bird dances: a form of mentally enriching play
www.science.org
August 11, 2025 at 8:16 AM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Happy to share this article on @theconversation.com covering our study on elephant gestures 🐘👋 @angelastoeger.bsky.social @nakedprimate.bsky.social Lucy Bates, Josh Plotnik

theconversation.com/do-elephants...
Do elephants make deliberate gestures to ask for things? Our study says yes
Elephants were found to gesture intentionally when they wanted humans to give them apples. This trait was thought to exist mainly in primates.
theconversation.com
August 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
limorraviv.bsky.social
I am advertising 2 positions in language evolution with my group at ‪‪@dondersinst.bsky.social:
📢 Fully-funded PhD position (Robotics/AI 🤖) www.ru.nl/en/working-a...
📢 Postdoc position (Virtual Reality 🎮)
www.ru.nl/en/working-a...
Deadline for applications is August 14th. Please RT! :)
July 14, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
alperyelimlies.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Exploration Behavior Is Consistent and Associated With Foraging Behavior in Island Songbirds
We tested the neophobia threshold hypothesis in six landbird species, including four Darwin's finches. Exploration behavior was consistent over time and contexts, with species exhibiting greater fora...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 10, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
angelastoeger.bsky.social
🐘 New Paper on Elephant Gestures Featured in The New York Times

📰 NYT article:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/s...

The study is part of Vesta Eleuteri’s PhD research, supervised by me and Catherine Hobaiter, in collaboration with Josh Plotnik and Lucy Bates.
How Elephants Say They Like Them Apples
www.nytimes.com
July 10, 2025 at 9:50 AM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
Check out our study on elephant intentional gestures covered by @science.org @angelastoeger.bsky.social @nakedprimate.bsky.social 🐘!
science.org Science Magazine @science.org · Jul 9
Elephants gesture to signal what they want—just like us.

Learn more: scim.ag/3IyDRrq
July 10, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
angelastoeger.bsky.social
🆕 Just published our latest study !!!
"Investigating intentionality in elephant gestural communication" 🐘🖐️
Do elephants gesture on purpose? Our new study explores the cognitive underpinnings of their gestures.

📄 doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
Royal Society Open
July 9, 2025 at 8:46 AM
vestaeleuteri.bsky.social
🚨Second PhD chapter is out today! We show that elephants gesture intentionally to ask humans for food using many different gesture types!
Check it out 👉 tinyurl.com/elephant-int...
🧵TLDR 1/16
a baby elephant eating leaves from a tree with the word mealtime written below it
ALT: a baby elephant eating leaves from a tree with the word mealtime written below it
media.tenor.com
July 9, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
nakedprimate.bsky.social
📣 Join the K/Creative Ape Team 🤓 2 PhDs on Creativity in Wild Chimpanzees & Bonobos; w myself & the v awesome @kathelijnekoops.bsky.social

@snf-fns.ch Uni Zurich @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @efp2026.bsky.social @ips-primatenews.bsky.social @primatesocietygb.bsky.social @primbehavecol.bsky.social 🐵🧪
two 4-year PhD positions in the Ape Behaviour & Ecology Group of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Zurich, and the Wild Minds Lab of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, to study wild chimpanzees and bonobos. The PhD candidates will work within the Creative Ape Project. The overall goal of the project is to enhance our understanding of the evolution of creativity, and to shed light on whether humans are a uniquely 'creative ape'. To do so we will apply a comparative approach, quantifying the creative capacities of wild non-human apes to investigate the underlying drivers that shape creative expression across species. The project explores four interconnected topics: i) Making mavericks, ii) Funny guys and arty-types, iii) Lone ape geniuses, and iv) Creative ape economies. We employ a comprehensive approach that leverages long-term datasets, new field data, detailed manual video-coding, bespoke automated deep-learning models, and advanced modelling, to extract rich information on the ways in which apes solve problems in their daily lives. Excellent collaborative, independent working and time management skills are essential. Previous field experience (incl. behavioural data collection) is required, and experience working in remote places under difficult living conditions is highly recommended. The project will require strong data management and data analysis skills, and 12-18 months of field work split into 2-3 periods. Please submit your application in a single PDF to kathelijne.koops@iea.uzh.ch and clh42@st-andrews.ac.uk – by 4th of August 2025. Feel free to get in touch if you have any inquiries about the positions. Applications should include: 1) cover letter stating your motivation and how your expertise fits the project (max. 1 page), 2) Curriculum Vitae, 3) copy of the highest degree obtained, 4) names and contact details of two referees, and 5) reprints of 1-2 selected publications A tiny chimpfant looks at the camera with surprise
July 2, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by Vesta Eleuteri
stephanielking.bsky.social
We are looking for a Research Assistant to contribute to our ongoing analysis of dolphin acoustic data from West Wales - collaboration between @wtsww.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social 🐬
Deadline is 29th June - please share widely!
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol
www.bristol.ac.uk
June 15, 2025 at 6:20 PM