banner
debottam1991.bsky.social
Debottam Bhattacharjee
@debottam1991.bsky.social
790 followers 430 following 14 posts
Postdoctoral Fellow @CityUHongKong, Previously Marie Curie Fellow @UniUtrecht, PhD in animal behaviour from @iiserkol. 🐾🐒 🐃 Associate Editor: iScience-Cell Press Animal behaviour, Comparative psychology, Behavioural ecology https://www.dbcognition.co.in
www.dbcognition.co.in
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
debottam1991.bsky.social
Debottam Bhattacharjee @debottam1991.bsky.social · Jul 7
New paper out in @peopleandnature.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

(1/6)

As cities grow and landscapes evolve, people are increasingly finding themselves sharing space with wildlife, which brings both challenges and opportunities.
1 6 10
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
marybates.bsky.social
Mary Bates @marybates.bsky.social · Jul 19
Does playfulness support a cooperative and tolerant society? A new study links play, tolerance, and empathy in elephants.
Play Encourages Cooperation and Tolerance in Elephants
Signals used by elephants to manage competitive play sessions provide hints to the roots of empathy in social mammals.
www.psychologytoday.com
3 4
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
enourani.bsky.social
Elham Nourani @enourani.bsky.social · 3d
🦅PhD position 🦅 in my new group at @fbm-unil.bsky.social in Switzerland, studying how the social and resource landscapes shape the learning process for soaring flight. Deadline: Oct 30. Pls repost! career5.successfactors.eu/career?caree...
Golden eagle on the nest in Finland (by O. Karlin)
1 73 100
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
amcell.bsky.social
Alan McElligott @amcell.bsky.social · 13d
2025. Veterinary college sheds light on lives of Lantau’s water buffalo - cc @debottam1991.bsky.social croucher.org.hk/en/news/vete...
Veterinary college sheds light on lives of Lantau’s water buffalo
Veterinary college sheds light on lives of Lantau’s water buffalo
croucher.org.hk
3 3
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
animbehsociety.bsky.social
Animal Behavior Society @animbehsociety.bsky.social · 14d
Do you love research & writing & all things animal behavior? Well our journal, Animal Behavior, recruiting up to 5 (count em!) new Associate Editors!

Editors serve three-year terms beginning January 2026. If you're interested, email Exec Editor Scott Sakaluk ([email protected]) by Oct 31!
ron burgundy from parks and recreation says " you 'd be a fool not to pick me "
ALT: ron burgundy from parks and recreation says " you 'd be a fool not to pick me "
media.tenor.com
23 26
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
tania-perroux.bsky.social
Tania Perroux @tania-perroux.bsky.social · 16d
@ghodgson.bsky.social and I will present our PhD research on October 23rd, 4 to 5.30pm HK time
Zoom is open for all and in-person attendance is available for staff and students of City University of Hong Kong. Scan the QR code or use the following link to register docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
5 7
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
ghodgson.bsky.social
George Hodgson @ghodgson.bsky.social · 16d
Interested in the feral cattle of Hong Kong? @tania-perroux.bsky.social and I will be talking about our PhD research next month; for more information and to register, check out the poster below! 👀🐂☀️
tania-perroux.bsky.social
Tania Perroux @tania-perroux.bsky.social · 16d
@ghodgson.bsky.social and I will present our PhD research on October 23rd, 4 to 5.30pm HK time
Zoom is open for all and in-person attendance is available for staff and students of City University of Hong Kong. Scan the QR code or use the following link to register docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
5 5
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
tania-perroux.bsky.social
Tania Perroux @tania-perroux.bsky.social · 22d
You can find out more about HK feral cattle phenotypes in our paper royalsocietypublishing-org/doi/10.1098/..., and learn more about this unique populations on our website hkcattleresearch.org
And let us know your thought about our findings 😀
Hong Kong Feral Cattle Research
Visit the post for more.
hkcattleresearch.org
3 6
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
tania-perroux.bsky.social
Tania Perroux @tania-perroux.bsky.social · 22d
We present the first evidence of seasonal coat colour changes in cattle, with paler individuals in the wet season and darker ones in the dry season, suggesting plastic phenotypes. The main driver of seasonal coat colour appears to be thermoregulation, supporting the thermal melanism hypothesis.
1 5 8
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
tania-perroux.bsky.social
Tania Perroux @tania-perroux.bsky.social · 22d
Our latest feral cattle paper “Seasonal changes in coat colour and sexual size dimorphism in a subtropical ungulate” is out today in open access
@royalsociety.org Royal Society Open Science royalsocietypublishing-org/doi/10.1098/... by myself, Kate Flay, @ghodgson.bsky.social & @amcell.bsky.social
2 7 10
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
laurenguillette.bsky.social
LaurenGuillette.bsky.social @laurenguillette.bsky.social · 23d
Accepting applications for Graduate Students! PhD & MSc

I am seeking highly motivated individuals to join my research team.

Application details here: https://bit.ly/4mlBd6x

Deadline 01 Dec 2025

Please share widely!

(1/3)
1/3
1 16 14
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
maxplanck.de
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft @maxplanck.de · Sep 1
The #MaxPlanckPostdocProgram offers a guaranteed contract of at least 3 years, targeted mentoring, and career workshops. The call for applications is open now! 🚀 Take advantage of this opportunity and browse the job vacancies. www.mpg.de/en/max-planc...
Group photo of postdocs conducting research at a Max Planck Institute
2 100 110
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
chansenwheat.bsky.social
Christina Hansen Wheat @chansenwheat.bsky.social · Sep 3
🚨 PhD position in behavioural evolution 🚨

Come do your PhD with me in Linköping, Sweden, using the domestic dog (and some wolves) to answer fun questions on how complex behaviours develop and evolve.

Application deadline September 24 2025 🧪 🌍 🦊 #AcademicSky #ScienceJobs

liu.se/en/work-at-l...
61 64
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
biorxiv-behav.bsky.social
bioRxiv Animal Behavior and Cognition @biorxiv-behav.bsky.social · Aug 15
Social status predicts self-directed behaviors, contingent on broader social dynamics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.11.669676v1
3 3
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
biorxivpreprint.bsky.social
bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · Aug 1
Reliability and precision of thermal imaging measurements to study animal behaviour and welfare https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.31.668027v1
2
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
ghodgson.bsky.social
George Hodgson @ghodgson.bsky.social · Jul 9
We found that feral cattle were more likely to intervene in allogrooming interactions if they had a strong social bond with one animal but not the other, dominant animals were more likely to be successful interveners, and that allogrooming duration increased when more cattle were nearby.
Photograph of two feral cattle exchanging allogrooming in the background with a single feral cattle in the foreground looking on as a bystander within 3 body lengths of the dyad
1 2 5
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
ghodgson.bsky.social
George Hodgson @ghodgson.bsky.social · Jul 9
Very excited to announce that our latest feral cattle paper “Strategic third-party interventions in feral ungulate affiliation” is out today in @royalsociety.org Proceedings of the Royal Society B royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... by myself, Kate Flay, Tania Perroux & @amcell.bsky.social
Photograph of a brown feral cattle grooming the back of another cow, with a pink and grey tongue sticking out of her mouth
2 8 27
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
ghodgson.bsky.social
George Hodgson @ghodgson.bsky.social · Jul 9
This indicates that cattle pay attention to their social surroundings, and selectively interrupt bonding behaviour. These nuanced social relationships and third-party effects are often only associated with non-human primates, and not usually with livestock such as cattle.
Photograph of a female brown feral cattle individual licking another on the neck
1 4 10
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
ghodgson.bsky.social
George Hodgson @ghodgson.bsky.social · Jul 9
Understanding how ungulates maintain #socialbonds is important for #positiveanimalwelfare and highlights the complex social lives and cognitive abilities of cattle. To learn more about the study, visit royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... or our website hkcattleresearch.org 🐂
Photograph of a group of feral cattle lying in a field in Hong Kong, with one black bull standing in the middle, and one brown animal lying in the background with its head on another animal's back
1 8 23
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
scienceblog.com
Science Blog @scienceblog.com · Jul 7
Wild Buffalo Divide Hong Kong Neighbors in Surprising Ways

In the marshlands of Hong Kong's South Lantau Island, where skyscrapers give way to wetlands, roughly 115 feral water buffalo have become unlikely neighbors to humans—and opinions about these massive ungulates are as diverse as the city…
Wild Buffalo Divide Hong Kong Neighbors in Surprising Ways
In the marshlands of Hong Kong's South Lantau Island, where skyscrapers give way to wetlands, roughly 115 feral water buffalo have become unlikely neighbors to humans—and opinions about these massive ungulates are as diverse as the city itself. A comprehensive study published in People and Nature reveals that demographic factors like age, ethnicity, and proximity dramatically shape how residents view their bovine cohabitants.
scienceblog.com
4 5
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
asabeducation.bsky.social
ASAB Education Committee @asabeducation.bsky.social · Jul 7
Plain speaking to help save the remaining 115 free ranging water buffalo in Hong Kong 😍 🐃 @amcell.bsky.social
relationalthinkingblog.com/2025/06/17/p...
Plain Language Summary: Understanding Hong Kong residents’ views on free-ranging semi-urban water buffalo on Lantau Island.
How do people view semi-urban feral buffalo in Hong Kong?Credit: Danhe Yang. By Danhe Yang, Debottam Bhattacharjee, Kate J. Flay, Yifu Wang, Hannah. S. Mumby, and Alan G. McElligott. This Plain Lan…
relationalthinkingblog.com
5 5
Reposted by Debottam Bhattacharjee
libertyruth.bsky.social
Charlotte Payne @libertyruth.bsky.social · Jul 7
If you visit Hong Kong, it's well worth taking a boat to Lantau to see the feral buffalo - they are incredible 🐃🐃🐃

(Last year I was so lucky to visit them together with the team behind this brilliant work!)
amcell.bsky.social
Alan McElligott @amcell.bsky.social · Jul 7
Where the feral buffalo roam in Hong Kong | www.eurekalert.org/news-release... led by @debottam1991.bsky.social Well Done Team! www.hkbuffaloresearch.org
Where the feral buffalo roam in Hong Kong
Most people associate Hong Kong with skyscrapers and shopping malls, but a small population of feral water buffalo calls the marshlands of South Lantau Island home. And they’re sparking a mix of...
www.eurekalert.org
1 3 3
debottam1991.bsky.social
Debottam Bhattacharjee @debottam1991.bsky.social · Jul 7
Press release of our @peopleandnature.bsky.social paper (besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/25758314...) 🐃

⬇️

www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
3 5
debottam1991.bsky.social
Debottam Bhattacharjee @debottam1991.bsky.social · Jul 7
(6/6)

w/ Danhe Yang, Kate Flay, Yifu Wang, Hannah Mumby, @amcell.bsky.social Thanks to Lantau Conservation Fund for support.

See www.hkbuffaloresearch.org for details on ongoing research
CityU Buffalo Project
www.hkbuffaloresearch.org
1 1
debottam1991.bsky.social
Debottam Bhattacharjee @debottam1991.bsky.social · Jul 7
(5/6)

Our findings show human-buffalo interaction dynamics in Hong Kong’s suburban areas. By recognising the diverse views of residents, conservation strategies can be tailored to balance ecological protection with community needs, helping people and buffalo share the landscape harmoniously.
1 1 1
debottam1991.bsky.social
Debottam Bhattacharjee @debottam1991.bsky.social · Jul 7
(4/6)

Demographic factors correlated with opinions, with differences based on age, gender, ethnicity, birthplace, and whether respondents lived on Lantau. Emotional responses were common in interviews, ranging from fondness for the buffalo to frustration over safety risks.
1 1 1