Kris Sabbi
About
Kris Sabbi, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of anthropology studying how development shapes behavior and physiology in wild primates as comparative models for understanding the evolution of human childhood. Her research combines behavioral observation, field experiments, and non-invasive hormone sampling to trace how biology, social experience, and ecology interact over the course of development.
Over the course of her career she has worked with multiple species, but the bulk of her research is grounded in a long-term study with the Kibale Chimpanzee Project in Uganda, where they have built an extensive video archive of chimpanzee behaviors. She is now expanding this framework in two directions. Since 2023, Sabbi has led a long-term study of wild chacma baboons in South Africa in partnership with Nature's Valley Trust, examining how baboons living at the edge of human settlements adapt their behavior to human-caused environmental changes — research that is already informing local wildlife management policy. In parallel, working with the Kokolopori Bonobo and Kibale Chimpanzee Projects, she is working to collect matched developmental data from chimpanzees and bonobos to ask why and how these closely related species grow into such differing social systems.
Across her projects, Sabbi's goal is to identify developmental patterns that are shared among primates and those which differ across species, especially when it comes to finding the windows when early experience leaves a lasting mark on behavior and health. Ultimately, building this comparative framework will help make progress toward a deeper, broader understanding of how and why human childhood evolved to be so long.
Professor Sabbi will be building her lab around the themes of comparing how young primates and humans grow, develop hormonally, and learn their social roles from a comparative perspective. She is also continuing to develop work in applied conservation and understanding how anthropogenic changes impact primate behavior, health, and development. She is currently seeking graduate students that are interested in building their research around these intersecting topics, especially folks who are excited about fieldwork with wild bonobos, chimpanzees, and chacma baboons. The lab is also open to motivated undergraduates who want to gain experience and skills in primatology — both through lab experiences and getting into the field!
Sabbi K.H., Monroe, I.G., Rosati, A.R., & Machanda, Z.P. (2026). Lifespan development of gaze following in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Developmental Science. 29(2), e70108. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.70108
Bryer M.A.H., Barnes, P., Sabbi K.H., Rukundo, J., Machanda, Z.P., & Rosati, A.G. (2026). Sex differences in semi-free ranging chimpanzees: Insights into the flexibility of chimpanzee social behavior. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 189(4), e70244. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70244.
Bryer, M. A., van Hasselt, C., Kurilla, S. E., Beveridge, S. B., Coetzee, H. C., & Sabbi, K. H. (2026). Fungal Diversity and Potential Health Benefits of Mycophagy in Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus). American Journal of Primatology, 88(4), e70146. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.70146.
Garcia, M.G., Fornof, L.J., Sabbi K.H., Martin, F., Sonderlig, E., de Rozario, J., Cikara, M., and Surbeck, M. (2026). Lethal incident during an intergroup encounter in bonobos. Scientific Reports, 16(1), 9550. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40297-w.
MacKenzie, C., Brodnan, S., Flesche, E., Sabbi, K.H., Otali, E., Muller, M.N., Wrangham, R.W., Rosati, A., & Machanda, Z.P., (2025). Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) use tools to access out-of-reach water. American Journal of Primatology, 87(4), e70036. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.70036.
Sabbi, K.H., Kurilla, S.E., Monroe, I.G., Zhang, S., Menante, A., Cole M.F., Otali E., Kobusingye, M., Muller M. N., Emery Thompson M. Wrangham R. W., & Machanda Z. (2024). Seasonal fluctuations in adult social play reveal a hidden cost of motherhood in wild chimpanzees. Current Biology. 34(6). 1364-1369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.025.
Muller M.N., Sabbi K.H., Emery Thompson, M.E., Enigk, D.E., Hagberg, L., Machanda, Z.P., Menante, A., Otali, E., & Wrangham, R.W. (2024) Age-related reproductive effort in male chimpanzees: Terminal investment or alternative tactics? Animal Behavior, 213, 11-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.04.002.
Rosati, A. G., Sabbi, K. H., Bryer, M. A., Barnes, P., Rukundo, J., Mukungu, T., ... & Machanda, Z. P. (2023). Observational approaches to chimpanzee behavior in an African sanctuary: Implications for research, welfare, and capacity‐building. American Journal of Primatology, e23534. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23534.
Wilke, C., Lahiff, N., Sabbi, K.H., Watts, D.P., Townsend, S.W., & Slocombe, K.E. (2022). Declarative referential gesturing in a wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119 (47). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206486119.
Sabbi, K. H., Emery Thompson, M., Machanda, Z. P., Otali, E., Wrangham, R. W., & Muller, M. N. (2021). Sex differences in early experience and the development of aggression in wild chimpanzees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(12). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2017144118.
Towle, I., Irish, J. D., Sabbi, K. H., & Loch, C. (2021). Dental caries in wild primates: Interproximal cavities on anterior teeth. American Journal of Primatology, e23349. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23349.
Sabbi, K. H., Muller, M. N., Machanda, Z. P., Otali., E, Fox, S. A., Wrangham, R. W., & Emery Thompson, M. (2020). Human‐like adrenal development in wild chimpanzees: A longitudinal study of urinary dehydroepiandrosterone‐sulfate and cortisol. American Journal of Primatology, 82(11), e23064. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23064.
Emery Thompson, M., Fox, S. A., Berghänel, A., Sabbi, K. H., Phillips-Garcia, S., Enigk, D. K., Otali, E., Machanda, Z. P., Wrangham, R. W. & Muller, M. N. (2020). Wild chimpanzees exhibit humanlike aging of glucocorticoid regulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(15), 8424-8430. https://doi.org/10.1073|pnas.1920593117
Emery Thompson, M., Machanda, Z. P., Fox, S. A., Sabbi, K. H., Otali, E., Thompson González, N., Muller, M. N., & Wrangham, R. W. (2020). Evaluating the impact of physical frailty during ageing in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 375(1811), 20190607. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0607
Emery Thompson, M, Muller, M. N., Sabbi, K., Machanda, Z., Otali, E., & Wrangham, R. W. (2016). Faster reproductive rates trade off against offspring growth in wild chimpanzees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(28), 7780-7785. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1522168113
The Great Apes