Details
Macaca sylvanus
Barbary macaque is the only wild macaque around Europe, surviving in North Africa and Gibraltar. Tourism makes the species familiar, but wild populations face forest loss and illegal trade.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in mountain forests, rocky areas, grassland, and the limestone landscape of Gibraltar. Main habitat types in this guide are forest, mountain, grassland.
Typical length 45-75 cm, weight 5 kg-16 kg. A nearly tailless body, thick fur, and a pinkish face are characteristic.
It is diurnal and a social species. Troops are social, and males may help handle or care for infants.
It is omnivorous. Leaves, fruit, seeds, roots, and insects are eaten according to season.
Females bear single infants that grow up amid many social partners in the troop.
Its limited range makes protection and habitat management important. Tourism makes the species familiar, but wild populations face forest loss and illegal trade.
