A milestone for Mozambican primatology
We are thrilled to congratulate Rassina Assane Farassi, PhD student at Gorongosa National Park, for receiving the Best Poster Prize at the International Primatological Society Congress 2025 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Rassina is the first Mozambican primatologist to attend this prestigious congress, marking an important milestone for early-career scientists from Mozambique.
Pre-Congress training and global collaboration
Before the congress, Rassina participated in the International Primatological Society Pre-Congress Training Program at Centre ValBio in Madagascar. She was one of 16 early-career primatologists selected from 13 countries across Africa, Asia, and Central and South America to take part in this unique opportunity to learn, share, and network ahead of the main event.
Award-winning research on Gorongosa baboons
Rassina presented her poster on Habitat Use and the Demographics of Object Manipulation by Wild Chacma Baboons. This work, based on her field research in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, provides new insights into how wild baboons interact with their environment and how individual and group behaviors vary across habitats.
Even more impressively, her first lead-author paper, reporting findings from the same study, was published just days before her presentation. The paper highlights the ecological and behavioral diversity of the Gorongosa baboons and demonstrates the significance of long-term primate field research.
Mentorship and teamwork
Rassina’s success is also a testament to her mentors João d’Oliveira Coelho and Susana Carvalho, who guided the study and supported her research journey. Her achievement reflects the strength of collaborative research and the growing impact of Mozambican scientists in the field of primatology.
You can read Rassina and the team’s research article here:
Habitat Use and the Demographics of Object Manipulation by Wild Chacma Baboons
