The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is classified as “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List. They inhabit two restricted areas in Morocco and some fragmented populations are found in Algeria. In the last decades the total population has been drastically reduced, and the recent numbers estimate about 8,000 individuals still present in nature. The main threat to their survival is habitat loss, mainly due to logging. As a result, Barbary macaques had to change some of their feeding habits, eating also barks and flowers, food that are not normally part of their traditional diet. The illegal trade and the use of these primates as pets and for entertainment are other important causes of the decreasing number of wild barbary macaques; it’s estimated that about 300 babies are captured and sold as pets annually.
 
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