A Monkey’s Balancing Act
How species in the wild are managing the risks and rewards of sharing space with humans
Endangered monkeys living in the wild are intelligently adapting their lifestyle to fit with their human neighbours, learning to avoid manmade risks and exploiting increased contact with people, new research has revealed.
The study, which looks specifically at the behaviour of an endangered monkey species, reveals that even in national parks where human presence is reduced and regulated, the animals carry out careful calculations and modify their natural behaviour to balance the pros and cons of living in close proximity to humans.
It reveals the negative impact that consuming human foods can have on the physical health of the monkeys, and highlights the need for new and sustainable conservation programmes to save the growing number of endangered species in their natural habitats.
Barbary macaques are an endangered species of monkeys restricted to the forests of Morocco and Algeria, with an introduced population also living on the Rock of Gibraltar. The wild population in North Africa has dramatically declined in the last decades.
The new study, led by Dr Bonaventura Majolo from the University of Lincoln, UK, involved a detailed examination of the effects of human activity on wild Barbary macaques in Ifrane National Park in Morocco.
Dr Majolo said: “When we observe animals in the wild we often talk about a ‘landscape of fear’. This term refers to the decisions that animals make when they choose whether or not to avoid an area where the risk of predation is highest; weighing up the risk of attack against the possible rewards to be found there.
“Our study shows that macaques make many behavioural adjustments in response to varying levels of risk and reward, and that the way the macaques respond to human activity is very similar to the way in which they respond to predation risk. We see evidence here that the macaques are capable of great behavioural flexibility as they navigate the problems and the opportunities that sharing space with humans presents.”