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Contrasts in Diet Amongst Barbary Macaques on Gibraltar: Human Influences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

H O'Leary
H O'Leary*
Affiliation:
Flat 4, 33 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4AB
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Abstract

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A four-month study was conducted on three groups of free-ranging, provisioned Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus, L) on Gibraltar in 1992. The groups exhibited marked contrasts in the levels of provisioned, tourist-derived and natural foods in their diet, which related to differences experienced in the level and nature of human visitation.

Feeding on natural plant items accounted for only 17-20 per cent of feeding records at all sites, whereas provisioned food was the dominant element (over 75% of records) at the least visited group. In contrast 51.7 per cent of items consumed at the site most used by tourists (Apes’ Den) involved tourist-derived foods, with provisioned food contributing only 28 per cent of feeding records. The high caloric content of tourist-derived foods together with their dominance in the diet at Apes’ Den is implicated in the well-documented weight-related problems affecting this group.

Current levels of uncontrolled tourist feeding present a health and welfare threat to the Barbary macaques of Gibraltar, particularly the Apes ‘ Den group. Future management plans must recognize and seek to remedy the negative impacts of tourism.

Keywords

animal welfareBarbary macaquehuman-impactprovisioningtourists
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , May 1996 , pp. 177 - 188
Copyright
© 1996 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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