In the afternoon we headed up to La Montagne Des Singes…AKA Monkey Mountain. We were going to get to hand feed Barbary Macaques. This could have been an amazing afternoon if the weather had cooperated. As it was we wandered the paths and fed the monkeys in the cold rain. We were in a bit of a hurry to get dry so we didn’t stay and explore as long we would have liked.
FYI
Unfortunately there are less than 10,000 individuals surviving in the wild, which is very few.
The Barbary Macaques in our different parks represent about 10% of the wild populations and are a precious gene pool for this endangered species. Within the last 10 years the Barbary macaque populations in Morocco and Algeria have decreased dramatically, the main cause being the loss of favorable habitat but also illegal trade.
La Montagne des Singes is strongly committed to the protection of the species by:
• raising public awareness of the protection of Barbary macaques by presenting them in a setting very similar to their natural habitat
• developing educational activities (see inter-active boards and games, booklets, guides, etc)
• preserving an invaluable genetic pool with the parks population
• strengthening wild populations by re-introducing entire groups of monkeys. Ever since the park opened; some 600 monkeys coming from our three parks were reintroduced into their natural habitat, the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
• sponsoring of actions in favour of the conservation of the Barbary macaque.
The Barbary Macaques in our different parks represent about 10% of the wild populations and are a precious gene pool for this endangered species. Within the last 10 years the Barbary macaque populations in Morocco and Algeria have decreased dramatically, the main cause being the loss of favorable habitat but also illegal trade.
La Montagne des Singes is strongly committed to the protection of the species by:
• raising public awareness of the protection of Barbary macaques by presenting them in a setting very similar to their natural habitat
• developing educational activities (see inter-active boards and games, booklets, guides, etc)
• preserving an invaluable genetic pool with the parks population
• strengthening wild populations by re-introducing entire groups of monkeys. Ever since the park opened; some 600 monkeys coming from our three parks were reintroduced into their natural habitat, the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
• sponsoring of actions in favour of the conservation of the Barbary macaque.
When you enter the park you are given popcorn for feeding the monkeys. I was worried that by the time we arrived in later afternoon the monkeys might be tired of popcorn and the kids might not get to feed them.
Well, you are actually given about 10 kernels of popcorn, not a bucket or a bag. So there were plenty of willing participants when we arrived.
The monkeys are fed a healthy natural diet, the small amount of popcorn is just a treat.
Of course it seemed apparent that some of the monkeys enjoyed more popcorn than others.
We were warned not to put the popcorn in our clothing or attempt to feed the mother monkeys...Apparently these monkeys are quiet strong and can be dangerous. Europe is FUN!
By the way I adjusted the exposure on these photos...it was pretty dark and dreary in reality.
This guy (or gal) was huge...about 1/2 the size of "J".
The whole time we were thinking "this is fun...sure hope a monkey doesn't tear my face off"
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