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Gilly’s story

Primate paintings by 

I’m passionate about engaging the public in my work and have taken part in ‘soapbox science’ events, given many interviews on TV and radio programmes, and hosted talks at festivals.” gilly forrester
Professor of Comparative Cognition

‘I look at how we and other animals communicate, solve problems and socialise.

For years we’ve used apes in science to try to understand ourselves as human. After all, we had a common ancestor six million years ago, and we’ve all inherited similar brains, bodies and behaviours.

I’m now turning this around and looking at how our knowledge of ourselves can help save critically endangered apes.

Since 2004 I’ve been studying a family of western lowland gorillas. They were originally raised at Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent – a breeding sanctuary for endangered species – were released into a nature reserve in Gabon in 2015.

My current research involves monitoring their wellbeing – not just their physical states, but also their stress levels. Gorillas are super sensitive, which means that when they’re stressed, their immune systems can plummet. This makes them more susceptible to respiratory disease. And, in addition, apes are more sensitive than humans to respiratory infecations – particularly the ones to which they are exposed by humans.

We know how humans respond to stress – in particular, our heartrate and respiration increase. So, we’re using remote thermal imaging devices to monitor the great apes’ responses to situations, with the expectation that we can develop new interventions based on current human mental health therapies.

I’ve been fascinated with communication development in species since I was a child, when the first studies of language learning apes, such as Koko the gorilla, hit the headlines. But I couldn’t understand why we were trying to teach them our language rather than investigating their communication system. This would not only allow us to understand them better, but also provide clues as to how our own communication system evolved and still develops in modern human infants.

Sussex is a great place for me to pursue answers to these questions because of the breadth of knowledge and research in these areas – particularly neuroscience and child development. We’re also currently looking at the development of infant motor skills from birth, to see how it influences and interacts with cognitive development. My earlier research suggests that tool use by early humans might have been a critical precursor to language, which is why we tend to use hand gestures when communicating with each other.

I’m passionate about engaging the public in my work and have taken part in ‘soapbox science’ events, given many interviews on TV and radio programmes, and hosted talks at festivals, including Science Futures at Glastonbury Festival. That’s the really fun part of my job – but it’s also fundamental to how we communicate research to as wide an audience as possible.’

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