Tourists Bother Monkeys
As with other wild animals, tourists annoy the monkeys. The Barbary Macaque’s behavior changes and it shows signs of stress when tourists harass it, as revealed by a study.
Studying how tourism changes the behavior of animals is complex. Even so, it seems increasingly obvious that the presence of tourist agglomerations in nature reserves has an impact on the behavior of animals, which can present stress.
Monkeys are bothered by tourists in Morocco
Quantifying stress is tricky, especially in wild animals that cannot be captured or trained. However, the analysis of hormones such as cortisol allowed us to investigate whether tourists bother monkeys in this scientific study.
Specifically, the species studied was the Gibraltar monkey, also known as the Berber monkey, found in mountains and North Africa. Their populations are in areas where tourism can have an impact on these animals.
To assess whether these animals face stress in their daily lives, two measures were used: the first, how much the animals scratch. The higher frequency of this behavior has been related to stress in this and other species.
On the other hand, measuring cortisol in stool samples collected by the researchers would provide hormonal references that can be combined with this behavior.
The researchers studied both parameters in males and found that monkeys are annoyed by tourists, regardless of their interaction with them.
When a monkey was fed, threatened or simply was near a tourist, the males in the group displayed stress-related behaviors.
we don’t understand monkeys
In the case of the gibraltar monkeys, it is not strange that when we break the safety distance, attacks occur against people. This isn’t just because tourists don’t respect wildlife; it is probably also related to lack of knowledge about their behavior.
Another study sought to analyze our understanding of these animals’ facial expressions and led to interesting conclusions.
In the case of primates, we have a serious problem in identifying expressions: we use facial expressiveness, but this is different among many species. It is difficult for a parrot or ferret to understand our facial expressions, although examples such as goats prefer you to smile.
The study was conducted through an online questionnaire, in which the ability of respondents to differentiate distinct emotions in monkeys through their face was assessed.
This questionnaire was made for people who had only seen these animals occasionally or never. Some of them were given a small simulation to understand some of the expressions.
The study was also carried out with people who worked for at least two months with this species, and found that most people who did not know the species did not identify well the emotions of these animals, and that this ability was improved with simple images that can be included in posters.
Interestingly, some tourists often identify monkey threats as kisses and even expressions of fear such as smiles. This has important consequences, as they are behaviors that invite us to stay away, and some tourists seem to find them friendly.
