Dr. Durham assisting orphaned baby chimpanzees with a meal

My research and writing reflect my passion not only as a primatologist and ethologist, but a life-long animal lover and advocate as well.  Both activities are critical elements in my efforts to heighten awareness, compassion and a keen understanding of animals – a way to educate and inspire others into action.

My current research interests focus on the intricacies of behavior as they relate to animals’ emotional and psychological lives.  This means that my work incorporates development, behavior, social systems, and responses to change and stress. More specifically, the I am working on the assessment and monitoring of behavior based on psychological and ethological data among animals in captivity.

Research goes global:

I present and publish my research internationally.  Some recent examples are featured below.

• International Primatological Society, Kyoto, Japan
• Africa Animal Welfare Action, Nairobi, Kenya
• 10th World Congress for Bioethics, Singapore
• 17th Annual Animal Law Conference, Lewis and Clark Law School, Portland, OR
• University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA
• UC Davis National Child Abuse and Neglect Conference, Sacramento, CA
• American Public Health Association, San Diego, CA
• International Society for Anthrozoology, Toronto, ON