Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women from Costa Rica and Switzerland about how animal behaviour is studied and what it reveals about life on our planet.

Marta Manser from Switzerland is a Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Zurich. She is the project director of the Kalahari Meerkat Project and has studied the species for nearly thirty years. Marta’s work has significantly improved our understanding of meerkat social structures, vocal communication, and group coordination.

Dr Gloriana Chaverri is an Associate Professor at the University of Costa Rica and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. She began her work with bats by investigating their mating systems and social organization. Recently she has been focusing on bat vocal communication.

Produced by Emily Naylor

(Image: (L) Marta Manser courtesy of Marta Manser. (R) Gloriana Chaverri courtesy of Gloriana Chaverri.)