The Barbary macaques of Ouzoud: how to see them responsibly

• Wild Barbary macaques, an Endangered species (IUCN), on CITES Appendix I since 2016
• The Ouzoud troop grew from 25 to 40 animals and split in two between 2003 and 2008
• Research links tourist feeding to stress, poorer health and more aggression
• Very likely to be seen along the paths and terraces, never guaranteed
• Keep at least 2 metres away, food hidden, no touching, no photos holding them
• Our local guides help you watch them calmly, at a distance

The monkeys at the Ouzoud Waterfalls are wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus), an Endangered species that lives in the wild only in Morocco and Algeria. A free-living troop has its home around the falls, and you will very likely cross paths with it on the trails, the terraces and in the olive trees. The right way to enjoy them is also the simplest: watch from a few metres away, keep food out of sight and never feed them. A study of this troop links food given by tourists to more aggression and to the group splitting in two.

We take travellers from Marrakech to Ouzoud, and for many of them, children above all, the macaques are a highlight of the day. We wrote this page because a lot of what circulates online about them is vague or wrong. Below, we separate clearly what scientists have studied at Ouzoud itself from what is known about the species in general, and every scientific fact is listed with its source at the end of the page.

Who are the monkeys of Ouzoud?

They are Barbary macaques, a species with a few unusual distinctions:

• The only macaques outside Asia. There are about twenty species of macaques, and all the others live in Asia.
• The only non-human primates in Africa north of the Sahara. No other monkey or ape lives wild in North Africa.
• Almost tailless. They have only a short stub of a tail, about 1 to 2 cm long. That is why people sometimes call them "Barbary apes", but they are monkeys.
• A small, broken range. In the wild they live only in Morocco (the Rif, the Middle Atlas and the High Atlas) and in northern Algeria, in small and fragmented patches of forest. The well-known group on the Rock of Gibraltar is managed and was introduced by people: genetic studies show that captured animals were brought there over the past few centuries.

Why is the species endangered?

The IUCN Red List classified the Barbary macaque as Endangered in 2008, after an estimated decline of about 50% over 24 years. A later assessment, published in 2020, again found a decline of more than 50% over three generations. The species is thought to have numbered more than 20,000 in the 1970s. Estimates published in 2016 put the wild population at about 6,500 to 9,100 animals; other counts differ, so treat any single number with caution.

The main threats named by researchers are the loss and degradation of forests (logging, overgrazing, drought), the fragmentation of populations, conflicts with farmers, decreasing water and, above all, the illegal capture of infants for the pet trade. The species was the most frequently seized live CITES-listed mammal in the European Union. In 2016, at the CITES conference in Johannesburg, a proposal from Morocco and the European Union moved the Barbary macaque to Appendix I, the highest level of protection, which bans commercial international trade.

How do they live?

In the wild, Barbary macaques live in mixed groups of males and females, usually around two dozen animals but sometimes many more. Females inherit their rank from their mothers. Males take an active part in caring for infants, grooming and playing with them, and adults look after the young of the whole group, not only their own. Most births happen between April and June, usually one baby at a time, so late spring and early summer are when you are most likely to see very small infants clinging to their mothers.

Their natural diet changes with the seasons: leaves, seeds and caterpillars in spring, fruit, roots and fungi in summer, acorns in autumn, and leaves, seeds and bark in winter. They store food in cheek pouches, and in doing so they spread seeds through the forest. None of this natural diet includes bread, crisps or peanuts, which is part of why feeding them matters.

What do we know about the Ouzoud troop?

Here we switch from general species facts to what has been studied at Ouzoud itself. The key source is a peer-reviewed study by Abderrazak El Alami and Abderrahman Chait, published in the Revue de primatologie in 2016, based on seven counts made between February 2003 and December 2008. Its main findings:

Two honest limits. First, these counts are now more than fifteen years old: nobody has published a current count of the macaques at Ouzoud, and we do not give one. Second, the study measured group size and structure, not health; the health effects of feeding come from research elsewhere in Morocco, described below.

The study also noted that in summer the macaques shifted their range away from the wetter zone near the falls, which was then crowded with visitors. In other words, even a troop used to people adjusts its life around the busiest places.

Where and when will you meet them at Ouzoud?

Very likely, but never with a guarantee. The troop is used to visitors and often comes close to the paved path, the stone walls, the terraces of the cafés and the olive trees at the top of the site. They gather where food can be found, which unfortunately means near people eating. On some visits they sit on the cliff edges above the gorge; on others they stay out of sight for a while. They are wild animals and decide for themselves where to be.

We do not give exact spots or times because they change, and the honest answer is that the macaques find you more often than you find them. A local guide who walks the site regularly knows where the troop tends to be on a given day, and can help you watch them in a quieter place rather than in the middle of a crowd holding out food.

Why should you not feed the macaques?

There is no official sign or rule at Ouzoud that we could find banning it, and you will see people doing it. We still ask every guest not to, and the reason is science, not etiquette. In plain words:

• It makes them more aggressive. At Ouzoud, researchers recorded far more aggression in the areas rich in human food. Fights over a handful of peanuts can also end on a visitor's hand.
• It can break up the group. The Ouzoud study links food from tourists and rubbish to stronger competition between females and to the troop splitting in two.
• It harms their health. In Ifrane National Park, Laëtitia Maréchal and colleagues compared a group heavily fed by tourists with a group living on natural food (2012 data, published in PLOS ONE in 2016). Food from tourists made up on average 44.6% of the fed group's feeding. The fed animals were larger, and the fed males had more hair loss and higher levels of stress hormones. Lameness and diarrhoea were also seen more often in the fed group, although the authors did not test those differences statistically. The authors conclude that feeding by tourists may overall harm the macaques' health.
• It makes them dependent. Animals that learn to expect food from people spend their day near roads, cafés and bins. Researchers have also observed Barbary macaques eating plastic litter.

Another study in Ifrane, published in Biological Conservation in 2011, found that male macaques scratched themselves more, a sign of anxiety, as the number of tourists grew and with every kind of interaction: neutral, feeding or aggressive. Only aggressive interactions raised their stress hormones. Even friendly contact is not neutral for them.

How should you behave around the macaques?

Our rules, based on the research above and on official advice for the same species in Gibraltar:

1. Keep your distance. We ask guests to stay at least 2 metres away, and more when you can. There is no official distance at Ouzoud; this is our own rule of thumb. Researchers advising the travel industry recommend a minimum distance from wild primates. Since the Ouzoud macaques tolerate people within less than 1 metre, it is up to you to keep the gap.
2. Hide food and plastic. Keep snacks, fruit and bottles in a closed bag. Plastic bags rustle, and macaques have learned what they contain.
3. Do not stare. In Barbary macaques, a steady stare is a threat signal. Look at them, but do not lock eyes. Also know that bared teeth, which look like a smile to us, signal submission or fear in macaques: a grin does not mean to them what it means to us.
4. Give mothers and babies extra space. Gibraltar's health authority notes that macaques may bite when they feel threatened, especially when protecting food or young.
5. Keep children close. Hold the hand of young children when macaques are near, and explain beforehand: no touching, no chasing, no snacks held out.
6. No touching, no holding. Do not pet them, lift them or let one climb on you.
7. Use the bins, or take your rubbish back. The Ouzoud study names rubbish dumps as a source of food that adds to competition in the troop.

What if a macaque grabs something?

It happens, usually to someone carrying food or a rustling bag. Let go and step back. Do not pull, chase or hit the animal: a tug of war over food is exactly when bites happen. Most of the time the macaque is looking for something to eat and drops the bag once it finds nothing. Then ask your guide or a nearby café owner for help to get it back.

If you are bitten or scratched, follow the advice of Gibraltar's health authority for the same species: wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water, and see a doctor or a clinic even if it looks minor, to prevent infection.

How do you photograph the macaques well?

Good photos and respect for the animals go together:

• Zoom rather than approach. A phone at 2x or 3x zoom, or a camera with a short telephoto, lets you fill the frame from a few metres away.
• No flash. Daylight is enough at Ouzoud, and a flash in the face startles animals at close range.
• No luring. Do not hold out food, click your tongue or wave to make them turn towards you. The 2011 Ifrane study found that even low-level contact, such as photographing them, was linked to more signs of anxiety.
• Wait for natural moments. Grooming, a mother carrying her baby, a macaque watching the falls from the cliff: patience gives far better pictures than a staged pose.
• Get down to their level. Crouching at a distance gives a more natural angle than shooting down from above.

Why not a photo holding a macaque?

You will see pictures online of visitors with a macaque on their shoulder. We ask our guests not to take them. The IUCN Primate Specialist Group's guidelines on responsible images explain that pictures of people holding or standing very close to primates give the false impression that touching them is safe, and suggest that primates make suitable pets. For the Barbary macaque, this matters a lot: infants are taken from the wild for the pet trade, and the species has been used as a photo prop for tourists. Photos of a macaque on a branch, taken from a respectful distance, carry no such message.

Why do videos online show people feeding them?

Because it happens every day at Ouzoud, and it makes a striking clip. Our own video below shows how close a macaque can come to a lunch table on a terrace. That closeness is precisely the result of years of feeding. We ask our guests not to add to it: enjoy the moment, keep your plate to yourself and let the macaque go back to its own food.

What do local guides do with the macaques?

A guide does not make the macaques appear, and a good one does not feed them to make sure you get a photo. What a local guide does is know the site: where the troop often rests, which quieter spots let you watch them away from the crowd, and how to read their behaviour, for example when a mother is nervous or when a male is getting tense around food. The guides who work with us do not feed or handle the macaques, and ask guests not to either.

On our tour with a local guide, the guide walks with your group down to the falls and back, and the macaques are part of the visit: time to watch them calmly, with explanations about the species and the troop. You can read more about what a guide does on that page, and about the whole site in our Ouzoud travel guide.

How can your visit help, not harm?

Responsible tourism at Ouzoud is simple and works on three levels:

• The macaques. Watch, do not feed, do not touch. Endangered species do not need our snacks; they need their habitat and fewer infants taken for trade.
• The litter. Rubbish feeds the macaques and spoils the site. The falls are classified nationally as a Site of Biological and Ecological Interest, and tourism has left waste in places. Take your rubbish back to the vehicle if a bin is full.
• Local businesses. The people of Ouzoud live from visitors: terrace restaurants, boat operators, guides, small shops. Eating lunch on a terrace, taking a boat or hiring a local guide spreads the benefit of your visit, without anyone needing to feed a monkey to earn a living.

If you are still deciding whether the day trip suits you, our page is Ouzoud worth it gives an honest answer, and the map of the falls shows the paths and viewpoints.

Our private Ouzoud tour

We run private day trips from Marrakech to Ouzoud, with your group alone in the vehicle. Prices are per vehicle for the whole group:

Pickup is at your hotel around 8:00, about 3 hours' drive each way, and around 3 to 4 hours at the falls. Booking is instant online with a 50% deposit, and cancellation is free up to 48 hours before.

Sources

• IUCN, "Deforestation spells doom for Barbary macaque" (2009): Endangered, range, threats
• El Alami, Van Lavieren and Chait, "The major threats to the Endangered Barbary macaque Macaca sylvanus in North Africa", European Journal of Ecology 8(2), 2022: decline of more than 50% over three generations, range, threats, CITES Appendix I
• Mongabay, "International trade in Barbary macaques banned" (29 September 2016): CITES CoP17 decision, Appendix I, population estimate, Endangered in 2008 after a 50% decline over 24 years, photo props, EU seizures
• CITES CoP17 Proposal 13 (Morocco and European Union): transfer of Macaca sylvanus to Appendix I
• El Alami and Chait, "Démographie du magot dans le site touristique des cascades d'Ouzoud", Revue de primatologie 7, 2016 (in French): the Ouzoud troop, 2003 to 2008
• Maréchal, Semple, Majolo and MacLarnon, "Assessing the effects of tourist provisioning on the health of wild Barbary macaques in Morocco", PLOS ONE 11(5), 2016: Ifrane
• Maréchal et al., "Impacts of tourism on anxiety and physiological stress levels in wild male Barbary macaques", Biological Conservation 144(9), 2011: summary by the Center for Zoo Animal Welfare
• REF 2014 impact case study, "Effects of tourism on wild primates" (University of Roehampton): minimum distance and no physical contact recommended in travel-industry guidance
• Natural History Museum, London, "Barbary macaques: Europe and north Africa's last monkeys": only macaque outside Asia, Gibraltar, tail, diet, shared infant care, population history, plastic litter
• Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan), Macaca sylvanus: range, tail, group size, matrilineal rank, seasonal diet, births from April to June
• New England Primate Conservancy, Barbary macaque: only non-human primate in Africa north of the Sahara, stare as threat, bared teeth as submission, cheek pouches, male care
• IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, Best Practice Guidelines for Responsible Images of Non-Human Primates (2021), summary by Projeto GAP
• Gibraltar Health Authority, advice on the macaques: bites, feeding, touching, first aid
• Wikipedia, Cascades d'Ouzoud (Site of Biological and Ecological Interest, waste from tourism; in French)