Abstract
The expansion of shared spaces between humans and wildlife, particularly resulting from agricultural encroachment on natural habitats, leads to increasing interactions between humans and non-human primates (hereafter “primates”). We explored how crop-foraging Barbary macaques adapt their behavior to anthropogenic disturbances and identified deterrents implemented by farmers and their effectiveness. We observed three groups of crop-foraging Barbary macaques in Aïn Leuh, Morocco, in 2021–2022. We estimated their activity budgets from 7185 scan records and tested whether they were influenced by habitat (forest, fruit orchard, and cereal field). Additionally, we examined the impact of time of day, month, and age-sex class (adult female, adult male, immature) on macaque presence in cultivated areas. We also analyzed macaque responses to encounters with humans and dogs. Macaques primarily focused on feeding in cultivated areas while allocating more time to resting and socializing in forested areas. They used cultivated areas extensively during periods of human activity. Cereal fields, but not orchards, were predominantly visited by adult females rather than males or immatures. Macaques experienced 0.34 to 0.67 anthropogenic encounters per hour, with variation across months, and high rates of aggression from humans and dogs. Preemptive deterrence measures, such as using slingshots before macaques entered the crops, were more effective than confrontations inside the cultivated areas. While crop-guarding with slingshots was effective, it poses risks to the macaques. This study highlights the high risk of crop-foraging for Endangered Barbary macaques and the need to develop safer and more sustainable crop-guarding strategies to mitigate conflicts and promote human-Barbary macaque cohabitation.
Résumé
L’expansion d’espaces partagés entre humains et animaux sauvages, due notamment à l’empiètement des zones agricoles sur les habitats naturels, entraîne une augmentation des interactions entre humains et primates non-humains (ci-après « primates »). Nous explorons comment des magots se nourrissant dans des cultures adaptent leurs comportements face aux perturbations anthropiques. Nous identifions les moyens de dissuasion utilisés par les agriculteurs et leur efficacité. Nous avons observé trois groupes de magots se nourrissant dans des cultures à Aïn Leuh au Maroc en 2021-2022. Nous avons testé l’influence du type d’habitat (forêt, vergers et champs) sur leurs budgets-temps à partir de 7185 observations scans. Nous avons testé l’influence du moment de la journée, du mois et de la classe d’âge-sexe (femelle adulte, mâle adulte, immature) sur la présence des magots dans les cultures. Nous avons aussi analysé les réponses des magots aux rencontres avec des humains et des chiens. Les magots passaient plus de temps en alimentation et moins de temps en repos et interactions sociales dans les zones cultivées que dans les zones forestières. Ils utilisaient les cultures lors de périodes de forte activité humaine. Les champs, contrairement aux vergers, étaient majoritairement utilisés par les femelles adultes. Les magots ont subi chaque mois 0,34 à 0,67 perturbations anthropiques par heure, avec de forts taux d’agression par les humains et les chiens. Les mesures de dissuasion préventives, telles que l’utilisation de frondes contre les magots avant qu’ils entrent dans les cultures, se montraient plus efficaces que les confrontations à l’intérieur des cultures. Bien que les frondes soient efficaces pour protéger les cultures des magots, elles représentent des risques pour les magots. Cette étude met en évidence la forte tendance des magots à prendre des risques et la nécessité de développer des stratégies de dissuasion plus sûres et plus pérennes pour mitiger les conflits et permettre une cohabitation durable entre humains et magots. *The publisher did not copy edit the abstract translation.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support for this study came from the NGO AAP (Animal Advocacy and Protection, Morocco and Netherlands), the French ANR project COHUMAG ANR-22-CE03-0008-01, the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France). Our study was conducted in close partnership with the “Agence Nationale des Eaux et Forêts” and the Director of the Ifrane National Park, Morocco. We thank L. Oukannou who helped us in the choice of the study site in Morocco, the team of the Ifrane National Park who assisted us in the field, and the local farmers who let us work on their lands. We are very grateful to Ellen Merz, Gilbert de Turkheim and Guillaume de Turkheim (La montagne des singes, France) who kindly hosted N. Ménard and E. Neves and provided valuable assistance in identifying the age and sex of Barbary macaques. We thank the Associate Editor Addisu Mekonnen, the Editor-in-chief Joanna Setchell, as well as two anonymous reviewers, for their suggestions which greatly improved this manuscript. This is a scientific production of UMR CNRS 6553/OSUR, University of Rennes.
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EN, NM, and PLG conceived and designed the study, developed the methodology, and wrote the manuscript. EN, NM, and CD collected the data. EN analyzed the data. SIC, NM, PLG, and EN acquired funding. SIC and ZA administered the project and provided essential resources. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The author list includes contributors from the location where the research was conducted, who participated in study conception and data collection.
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Handling Editor: Addisu Mekonnen
Badge earned for open practices: Open Data Badge. Experiment materials and data are available in the repository at https://osf.io/v2j7c/.
Nelly Ménard and Pascaline Le Gouar should be considered joint senior author.
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Neves, E., Cherkaoui, S.I., Amhaouch, Z. et al. Conflicts Between Humans and Endangered Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) at the Edge of an Agricultural Landscape in Morocco. Int J Primatol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-024-00422-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-024-00422-w