ECOTOURISTS are doing monkeys no favours by sharing their picnic with them.
Wildlife tourism is already thought to stress many species. To study its effect on Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) in the Moroccan Atlas mountains, Laëtitia Maréchal and Stuart Semple of the University of Roehampton, London, recorded levels of glucocorticoid hormones – an indicator of stress – in the monkeys’ faeces. They also monitored rates of self-scratching, which relates to anxiety.
The researchers found that even something as seemingly innocuous as taking a photo or feeding the macaques increased the likelihood of anxiety, while aggression from tourists pushed them into full-blown stress (Biological Conservation, DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2011.05.010).
Such studies are vital to help establish guidelines, says Semple.