Fury in Gibraltar over what tourists have been feeding its famous monkeys | World | News
A new study has found that the monkey population in Gibraltar has started eating mud to calm their stomachs after consuming tourists’ fast food. Scientists have found that the Barbary macaque population in the British Overseas Territory regularly consumes mud, and they do not believe this behavior is a one-off or simply out of curiosity.
Instead, researchers say mud-eating was likely because they were provided with fruits, vegetables and seeds every day, but also received additional food from visitors. The animals are usually fed by local authorities, who supply them with fruits, vegetables and seeds every day, but they also manage to get additional food from visitors who feed them chips, chocolate, ice cream, salted peanuts, bread, juice and other snacks. This is despite warnings not to touch or feed the monkeys.
Gibraltar Barbary macaques are the only population of wild monkeys in Europe living in the Rock, numbering around 230. These apes are now a major tourist attraction.
Although the researchers are not yet sure whether the animals’ new behavior is due to fast-food consumption, their evidence suggests a correlation between interaction with tourists and the amount of mud eaten. This evidence was collected between the summer of 2022 and the spring of 2024 and found that almost a fifth of the food consumed by the monkeys was provided by tourists.
Those who lived closer to the top of the rock were twice as likely to eat this type of food and were also the most likely to eat mud. Meanwhile, during high tourist season, when the availability of human food increases, more monkeys eat mud. It was found that during the winter months, animals were 40% less likely to consume food from tourists and less than 30% less likely to eat soil.
During the research, 44 monkeys were observed eating soil 46 times. In three cases, they ate the mud immediately after eating ice cream, dessert or bread.
It is believed that mud reduces the negative effects of malnutrition and therefore benefits the digestive system.
Gibraltar monkeys aren’t the only ones consuming mud in this way; Pregnant monkeys in Africa, Asia and South America have been observed eating soil to reduce nausea and obtain minerals.
As the summer tourist season approaches, visitors are reminded not to feed the animals or leave garbage behind.
