Tourists Often Give Ice Cream, Gibraltar Monkeys Now Eat Soil

JAKARTA - Monkeys in Batu Gibraltar have a new habit that is both funny and worrying. They eat the ground after getting too many snacks from tourists, from chips, chocolate, M&M's, to ice cream.

Quoted from The Guardian report, Friday, April 24, researchers suspect that this behavior is done to relieve digestive disorders. This habit of eating soil is known as geophagy.

Researchers observed groups of Barbary macaques in Gibraltar. The results, the monkeys that most often meet tourists actually eat the most dirt. This habit also increases during the holiday season.

There are about 230 macaques in Gibraltar who live in eight groups. The local government actually gives them fruit, vegetables, and grains every day. The problem is, many tourists still give human food. Some of the food is even stolen by monkeys from visitors.

The types are various: salted peanuts, bread, dry pasta, chocolate, Coca-Cola, orange juice, M&M's, to ice cream. According to researchers, the monkeys like Magnum and Cornetto, but they don't like sorbet.

Dr Sylvain Lemoine, a primatologist from the University of Cambridge, said fatty, salty and sweet foods are thought to disrupt the monkeys' gut microbiomes. The microbiome is the collection of microbes in the digestive tract.

"We suspect that fast food disrupts the composition of the microbiome. We know that bacteria and minerals in the soil can help reassemble the microbiome and reduce its negative impact," said Lemoine, quoted by The Guardian.

Based on research published in Scientific Reports, observations from summer 2022 to spring 2024 found that almost a fifth of macaque food came from tourist food. Groups around the rock pinnacle, a favorite tourist area, were twice as likely to eat human food as other groups. They also ate the most soil.

Researchers recorded 44 monkeys eating soil in 46 incidents. In three cases, monkeys ate soil shortly after being given ice cream, biscuits or bread. When visitors are reduced in winter, the likelihood of monkeys eating tourist food drops by 40 percent. The habit of eating soil also fell by more than 30 percent.

Researchers say the monkeys seem to learn from their group. Most are looking for red clay or terra rossa. However, the Ape's Den group chose tar-mixed soil from a paved road hole.

This is where the problem lies. The soil may help the monkey's stomach, but it is not necessarily safe. Some of the land is close to busy roads. Researchers now want to examine the levels of pollutants.

The Gibraltar case is relevant for Indonesia. In many tourist attractions, wildlife is often given human food for photos or content. In fact, this habit can change the behavior of animals and interfere with their health in the long term.

Primatologist Paula Pebsworth from the University of Texas at San Antonio said geophagy could be related to detoxification and mineral needs. However, for the case of tourist food, the most reasonable solution is not to let monkeys eat the ground.

What must be reduced is the habit of humans feeding wildlife. Because the stomach is sick, it may be the monkey. But the source of the problem is still human.