Saving Morocco’s endangered Barbary macaques

The Barbary macaque is North Africa’s only monkey. Although the species was historically found across North Africa and Europe, wild populations are now limited to just a handful of clusters in Morocco and Algeria.

A male Barbary macaque carries a baby on its back in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco. It is common among this species for fathers to take an active role in parenting duties.

Two baby macaques huddle together in a cage at the famous Djemaa el Fna square in Marrakech. Even though it’s illegal to own Barbary macaques, the monkey handlers at the square are given an exception because of their long tradition with the monkeys. Handlers make their living by charging tourists to take photos with the monkeys.

Two baby macaques huddle together in a cage at the famous Djemaa el Fna square in Marrakech.

A pet Barbary macaque looks out from its cage at a home in Tetouan. Most of the monkeys sold in Morocco go to tourists who smuggle them into Europe.

In Ifrane National Park, tourists feed wild Barbary macaques that have become habituated to humans. Some of the monkeys have even learned how to twist off the caps of soda bottles. Scientists express concern that interactions with tourists induce stress in the Barbary macaque, which may have negative impacts on their reproductive health.

Overgrazing in the Middle Atlas Mountains causes habitat loss for the Barbary macaque. Herds of sheep compact the soil and eat young vegetation, leading to deforestation of the cedar forests, which are the monkeys’ habitat.

The Rif region in northern Morocco has a rugged landscape that’s home to some of the last remaining wild populations of Barbary macaques.

An avid hiker from Tetouan, Ahmed El Harrad is an expert at navigating the steep and winding terrain of the Rif Mountains. In 2004, he met British primatologist Siân Waters while he was driving a taxi. She enlisted his help in surveying the wild Barbary macaques and sharing his knowledge of the area, and the pair have since started Barbary Macaque Awareness and Conservation, a Moroccan non-governmental organization devoted to protecting the species. As the deputy director, El Harrad drives the organization’s unmistakable “Monkey Bus” ­— a Land Rover Defender covered in photos of the Barbary macaque.

Children from a school in Boujmil, a village in the northernmost Rif Mountains, color monkey masks as part of an education program sponsored by Barbary Macaque Awareness and Conservation. The organization works with local communities to prevent sport hunting and pet trafficking.

Villagers in the Rif used to believe the Barbary macaques were abundant and would routinely kill them for sport. Grassroots efforts by Barbary Macaque Awareness and Conservation — through school visits, football tournaments and educational exhibits — have led to a reversal of these behaviors, with some villagers now acting as the monkeys’ protectors.