An estimated 300 infant macaques are taken out of Morocco each year, crippling the population growth and recovery. Barbary Macaques have long been sought after as pets and skeletal remains of macaques have been discovered in archaeological digs in Egypt, Pompeii and even in a Bronze Age Irish burial site. The poaching and smuggling of Barbary Macaques as part of the illegal exotic pet trade and for use in tourism is having a major impact on the population’s sustainability. In addition, the remaining population of Macaques in the Atlas Mountains are extremely isolated and fragmented. Barbary Macaques are listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List and the Macaques population continues to decline thanks to a number of threats such as habitat loss, poaching, overgrazing and the illegal pet trade. The Barbary Macaque is unique in that it is the only species of macaque outside of Asia and the only primate, apart from humans, living north of the Sahara in Africa. The endangered Barbary Macaque makes its home in the cork oak forests of the Atlas Mountains in Algeria and Morocco. Cork oaks also grow across North Africa and can be found in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Not all of the vulnerable and endangered animals that make their home in cork oak forests live on the Iberian Peninsula. Original graphic provided by SPD UK THE BARBARY MACAQUE The ambitious aim of the programme was to show how local economic activities, such as the harvesting of cork, could be compatible with the conservation of endangered species and their habitat. The Lynx Program was launched in 2004 by a group of conservation organizations with the aim of ensuring the conservation and long-term management of the Iberian lynx’s habitat, such as the cork oak forests. The Spanish and Portuguese governments have also made great efforts to maintain the species population. The WWF has been working towards the conservation of the Iberian lynx for the last ten years and manages a captive breeding programme as well as lobbying for the protection of the lynx’s habitat. Some lynx are victims of traps and snares that are left for other animals. The expanding road network has also caused an increase in car collisions with 22 lynx dying from car hits in 2014. Finally, illegal hunting and poaching still threaten the Iberian lynx despite them being protected since the 1970s.
Similarly, habitat loss from infrastructure creation has created barriers between lynx populations. Rabbits are the preferred prey of the Iberian lynx and various epidemics and habitat loss have caused the rabbit population to decline which has, in turn, affected the Iberian lynx population. The main threats to the Iberian lynx are habitat loss and a declining food base. However, the threat of extinction arose from a number of threats and the species' future is not yet secure. Thankfully, conservation efforts have prevented the Iberian lynx’s extinction and the population is continuing to increase slowly. Surveys conducted in the early 2000s showed the population of Iberian lynx adults had severely declined to around 100 Lynx, split between two breeding groups. In Portugal alone, 37 different species of mammals can be found in cork oak forests, including the Iberian lynx, the most threatened feline in the world. Original graphic provided by SPD UK THE IBERIAN LYNX All of the vulnerable or endangered species that live in cork oak forests are found nowhere else on earth. The continued use and management of cork forests will encourage the biodiversity of these areas and aid in wildlife conservation via habitat growth and protection. Among the countless species that thrive in the cork oak forests, many are endemic uniquely defined to a particular location such as the Iberian Peninsula or the Atlas Mountains. The high levels of biodiversity in cork forests have formed thanks to the co-evolution of the biological and cultural processes of these dehesa. This can include harvesting the bark from the cork oak, grazing livestock and growing fruit, all in the same area. The area is carefully managed to balance the landscape so that a range of resources can be utilized. A dehesa (or montado) is a multipurpose system that has been managed by humans for centuries. The Natural Biodiversity of the Cork Oak ForestsĬork oak forests or woodlands are known as dehesa (in Spain) and montado (in Portugal) and are home to a wealth of natural biodiversity that includes a wide variety of species of animals and plants, forming a complex food chain.