About us

The Scottish Primate Research Group was founded in 1987 in a pub in Auchtermuchty that sat mid-way between the Universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh, and Stirling by our four founders: Dick Byrne, Bill McGrew, Liz Rogers, and Andy Whiten.

Today SPRG is also home to researchers from Aberdeen, Abertay, and Heriot Watt. Our research includes field studies of primates in the wild, especially in Africa and South America.  We also study captive primates to answer questions that cannot be answered in the wild, such as how monkeys perceive the social and physical world they live in. SPRG specialises in primate psychology and behaviour. We have a special  interest in what we can learn about our own evolutionary origins by better understanding our closest living relations. SPRG studies also include the conservation of wild primates and the welfare of captive ones.