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March 22, 2024

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Frans de Waal, biologist who championed animal intelligence and emotion, dies at 75

National Geographic

“His most influential insights, in my view, can be divided into three areas,” says Strier. The first was that
“nonhuman primates are more thoughtful than we thought, in both their cognitive abilities and in their empathy
and morality,” he says, spurring more ethical treatment of primates. The second: Frans’ “fine-grained observations
of individuals in social groups, powerful experimental and analytical designs, and informative comparisons among
closely-related species” showed the scientific community that a tremendous amount can be observed and
concluded about primates through non-invasive techniques. The third, Streir says, is that “through his work we
have gained new perspectives” on the evolution of our own behavior as humans.

Obituaries

Frans de Waal, who explored empathy among apes, dies at 75

The Washington Post

He moved to the United States in 1981 to take a take a position at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center in Madison and subsequently lectured at the University of Wisconsin. In 1991, he became a research professor at Emory and later was named director of its primate center.

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