In Ifrane National park, Morocco, there is a group of barbary macaques that have become accustomed to tourists giving them food. The tourists are mostly Moroccan but there are also visitors from outside of Morocco who come to see the monkeys.
At weekends there can be up to 40 people at a time visiting the park. The monkeys have come to expect food and rarely leave the picnic areas.
In addition to peanuts, the monkeys are also given sweets, chocolate bars, fruits and drink.
The majority of the people who visit, see these monkeys as being harmless, and will often let their small children (3/4 years old) feed the monkeys too. But of course the adult male monkeys have very large canines, and both male and female macaques are very strong. Therefore, it is dangerous to feed monkeys. Although attacks tend to be rare.
Here is a woman attempting to give a monkey some peanuts. The nuts are sold by a group of guides who live in the forest.
At weekends there can be up to 40 people at a time visiting the park. The monkeys have come to expect food and rarely leave the picnic areas.
In addition to peanuts, the monkeys are also given sweets, chocolate bars, fruits and drink.
Here in both photos (above and below), a visitor to the park gives a monkey some water to drink.
The food given to the monkeys is generally of higher nutritional quality than foods found in the forest. Therefore, monkeys that are fed by tourists tend to be fatter than monkeys who do not get regular human food. In addition, here in Morocco the monkeys that are fed by the tourists have an extended breeding season, compared to monkeys a few kilometres further south who do not get regular food from tourists. The tourist monkeys also keep their winter coats for longer than in other groups.
At the cedar gorge forest, there is a small restaurant and the family here (photo above) are sitting down for a traditional tagine meal. Spot the monkey sitting down close to the table, waiting for some bread to be given from the table.
The majority of the people who visit, see these monkeys as being harmless, and will often let their small children (3/4 years old) feed the monkeys too. But of course the adult male monkeys have very large canines, and both male and female macaques are very strong. Therefore, it is dangerous to feed monkeys. Although attacks tend to be rare.
There is a lot of debate in the scientific community as to whether it is a good or bad thing for animals to receive regular food from tourists.
