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Barbary macaques: Europe and north Africa’s last monkeys
Algeria, Morocco and Gibraltar are home to the only macaque outside Asia: the Barbary macaque.
Read on to discover facts about these tailless monkeys and the challenges they face.
What are Barbary macaques?
Barbary macaques, Macaca sylvanus, are one of 25 species of macaque found around the world. They’re the only macaque species living outside Asia and the only non-human primate in north Africa and Europe.
Though they live in a different part of the world, they’re a similar size to other macaques. Male Barbary macaques are around 63 centimetres long and weigh about 15 kilogrammes. Females are slightly smaller and lighter, at 55 centimetres and 10 kilogrammes respectively.
Unlike their macaque relatives, however, Barbary macaques lack a tail. This means they’re sometimes called Barbary apes, because no ape has a tail. But this name is misleading. They’re actually monkeys, belonging to a different part of the primate family tree.
Their African origin and lack of a tail make Barbary macaques one possibility for the species of Curious George, a character made famous in a series of children’s books.
Barbary macaques are also unusual because of their lifestyle. Living in groups of as many as 80, the mammals are alloparental. This means that the adult males and females look after all the offspring in the group, not just their own.
The young monkeys are raised on a diet of plants and invertebrates, with Barbary macaques known to eat seeds, leaves, fruits, snails and worms, among other foods. Some adults have even been seen catching and eating rabbits and chicks.
If they can successfully avoid their predators, which are thought to include eagles, snakes and dogs, female Barbary macaques can live as long as 30 years. Males live around five years less.
Barbary macaques don’t have a visible tail. They only have a very short, vestigial tail. This means it isn’t functional – they can’t use it to help them climb trees in the way other monkeys use their tails.
Where do Barbary macaques live?
Today, Barbary macaques are mainly found north of the Sahara in Africa, with an estimated 1,500–3,500 macaques in Algeria and around 8,000–9,000 in Morocco.
While wild Barbary macaques only live in these countries now, they used to be much more widespread across the north of the continent. Their name reflects this. It refers to the Barbary Coast: a historic name for the region of Africa stretching from Morocco to Libya.
Barbary macaques’ natural habitat is generally at high altitude. It includes the cedar and oak forests of the Rif and Atlas mountains as well as scrubland and rocky slopes.
The primates are the oldest member of the macaque family, which first evolved in north Africa around 7.5 million years ago. While their relatives spread to Asia, where macaques are mostly found today, the Barbary macaque remained in Africa and Europe.
For millions of years, Barbary macaques were widespread across Europe, living alongside Neanderthals as well as early Homo sapiens. Fossils have been found from as far north as England all the way down to Spain. Warmer temperatures allowed them to live at higher latitudes than they do today.
As recently as 60,000 years ago, the Barbary macaque was living in Germany. But changing habitats and climate drove the monkeys out of Europe and back into Africa.
It’s also possible that early humans arriving in Europe hunted the macaques, putting the species under even more pressure.
While we don't know when macaques first started living in Gibraltar, historical records suggest they were already living there in the 1700s. © Comaniciu Dan/ Shutterstock
Barbary macaques in Gibraltar
A population of around 230 monkeys exists on the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar on the shores of the Mediterranean.
These are the only free-living monkeys in Europe and are a regular sight on the Rock of Gibraltar. However, they’re not strictly wild monkeys, as they’re fed and managed by the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society and the Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic.
While it has been proposed that the Gibraltar monkeys are the last remnants of Europe’s once large Barbary macaque population, scientific research suggests that’s not the case. Instead, the population has the genetic signatures of macaques from both Morocco and Algeria.
This points to the import of captured animals over the past few centuries to bolster the population. It might be because of a legend that the Rock of Gibraltar will remain British as long as Barbary macaques live there.
It’s said that during World War Two, Winston Churchill ordered that there should always be at least 24 macaques on the rock to meet the conditions of this legend.
Barbary macaques were classed as Endangered in 2008 following a rapid decline in their population.
Are Barbary macaques endangered?
Though Barbary macaques were once widespread, numbering more than 20,000 in the 1970s, today they’re only found in small and fragmented populations. The sharp decline has led to the monkey being classed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The largest remaining population of Barbary macaques lives in Morocco’s Ifrane National Park, located in the Middle Atlas Mountains.
Why are Barbary macaques endangered?
Lahcen Oukanou, Ifrane National Park’s Head of Ecotourism, says, “over the past 40 years, the macaque population has decreased by around 40%. There are many reasons for this, but the loss of trees has been particularly important.”
“Overgrazing and climate change, for instance, are putting trees under pressure and making it more difficult for them to grow. The harvesting of trees for fuel and timber is also causing the habitat to fragment, as the macaques can't stray too far from tree cover as it exposes them to danger.”
Littering in their habitat means that some Barbary macaques are eating plastic left behind by humans.
The loss of habitat is forcing the macaques to leave woodland more and more in the search for food. This is bringing them into contact with humans increasingly often. As the monkeys become used to our presence, the change in their behaviour is also proving harmful.
“The macaques have become habituated to tourists and are becoming dependent on human food,” Lahcen says. “This is dangerous for their health, as processed food does not agree with their digestive system. Some monkeys are also eating plastic litter dropped by visitors.”
“However, it’s not just what they’re being fed by tourists, but how. The macaques have a social system and when subordinates receive food ahead of their superiors it can cause this hierarchy to break down.”
The monkeys’ appeal to tourists is so strong that an illegal trade has developed. You can find Barbary macaques for sale as pets, with a 2016 paper estimating that around 200 are smuggled into Europe every year for this purpose.
This is having a significant impact on the survival of the species. Estimates suggest that as many as half of all infant Barbary macaques living near tourist sites might be captured for the illegal pet trade, limiting the species’ ability to recover.
Restoring Ifrane National Park’s forests will allow the Barbary macaque population to spread over a wider area. © marketa1982/ Shutterstock
Saving the Barbary macaque
While there are no easy solutions to save the Barbary macaque, we’ve taken steps in recent years to better protect these monkeys.
Many countries, including Morocco and Algeria, had already banned ownership of these animals, but the commercial trade was outlawed in 2016. Being listed on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) now makes it illegal to buy or sell the macaques internationally.
“CITES protections help to stop the macaques being taken across borders,” Lahcen says. “New laws have also been introduced in Morocco to strengthen protections to the animal, which is helping to stop people catching these monkeys for the pet trade.”
As well as punishments for those who break the law, there have also been greater efforts to educate tourists and residents about the Barbary macaque. Charities such as Barbary Macaque Awareness & Conservation have been working to discourage the use of the monkeys as pets and entertainment, and to let them be wild animals.
Meanwhile, livestock owners are being paid to allow forest regeneration in Ifrane National Park. This is credited with reducing levels of wood cutting and grazing by up to 48%.
Improving the connection between macaque populations by restoring the forests of Ifrane National Park will also help to bolster the species.
“We are trying to reconnect areas of woodland with new wildlife corridors and plans are underway to identify where these should go,” Lahcen adds.
The right protections will give the Barbary macaque the best chance of recovery, so that Europe and north Africa’s last monkeys aren’t lost to history.
