Don’t go to Azrou for the Barbary Apes

There isn’t much comparable to the freedom we felt when it was just the two of us, our tiny blue Kia rental, and nine days to explore Morocco. We could go anywhere we wanted in this country we had never been and it was exhilarating and freeing. Time stood still and nine days would feel like much longer.

So where to go?

Mike had read about a city named Azrou, home of the Barbary Apes.

Even though we once spent nearly three months living on a private island with 12 monkeys as roommates, the idea of hanging out with monkeys is always one we can get down with. In the forests of Azrou these Barbary Apes were apparently so comfortable with people, that they would come to greet you and actually “hang out”. It undoubtedly sounded too good to be true.

We had found just a few outdated blogs written about this area that appeared to still be somewhat undiscovered. So, we thought, what better way to make a pit stop than at one where you can get some quality time in with monkeys?

We had spent the night before in the desert near Merzouga, and the transition from being in dry desert to suddenly driving upon deep green forests was a spectacular way to see the landscapes transform in just a few hours.

After reading a few of these blogs, we found a particular location on exactly where to find these monkeys. It seemed odd to have an actual geographic coordinate on google maps to lead us to monkeys, but, we were in Morocco and it’s monkeys we’re talking about, so why not?

As we began getting closer to our destination, we noticed buses and cars pulled over on the side of the road and tourists walking about. As I’m eagerly looking to see if I can spot any of these apes, I hear Mike go, “Holy shit. Look!”

To the left of us, sure enough, were these spectacular looking apes, right out of a National Geographic documentary. And it wasn’t just one or two. They were everywhere. It was one of those surreal moments where I could hardly believe what my eyes were showing me. I had to do a double take.

But as much as I wanted to be excited and giddy over what I was seeing, there was something very off putting about it immediately.

These apes weren’t up in the trees. They were swarming the grounds and within inches of people. Something about it didn’t feel right.

We stopped the car to get out and walk awhile. We were immediately greeted by a local trying to “give” us fruit, showing us how to feed the monkeys. We politely declined as we knew a) feeding wildlife is a no-no and b) nothing offered to you is ever free.

As we stepped out of the car I remember getting this sick feeling in my stomach. There were paper wrappers that filled the ground. And these monkeys weren’t up in the trees as they naturally should be. Many of them were so overweight, that they were no longer climbing among the trees to find food as they now entirely depended on tourists to feed them.

Behind those pure faces remarkably resembling that of a hairy human, you could see a sadness in their eyes. It was as if they had nothing to live for any more. They weren’t excited to run around and be monkeys, while foraging for food. There were a few babies that still had that innocence about them as they jumped excitingly from tree to tree, but it was unavoidable to see the truth: that eventually that pure joy of being an independent ape would soon change.

We walked around for about 15 minutes. We couldn’t help but smile as we came inches away from a mother with her baby on her back. It was something we had never seen in the wild before. But after a few moments we both looked at each other and knew it was time to go.

It was this shocking representation of the impact we are having on this planet. Tourists coming to feed these monkeys only to get a quick photo in were setting the fate for the generations of these apes. If the massive amount of these monkeys were so dependent on food from tourists, what will happen in the years to come when they’re no longer inspired to live the way they should, independently without the help of humans?

As I began to read further in to these apes, I found that studies had shown other negative impacts of these apes being so acclimated to being around tourists, such as rotting teeth from the amount of sugar being fed to them and lack of natural behaviors, one as simple as simply grooming each other. The lack of grooming is in turn leading to less pregnancies in females.

As we jumped back in to the car, we rode in silence for a short while both processing what we had just seen. We both felt sick. The fate of the Barbary apes is unknown, just as the fate is for many other aspects in the world we live in based on the pure actions we make that impact it.

So if you’re headed to Morocco, please don’t go to Azrou for the apes. We need to continue educating each other on the reality behind what we see in real life that goes far beyond a beautiful picture on Instagram, and the impact feeding wildlife can make on the fate of these remarkable animals.

Because a world without monkeys? I don’t know about you, but that is not a world I want to live in.