A troop of Barbary macaques has puzzled researchers with their soil-eating habits. The monkeys, studied between 2022 and 2024, ate the most soil during tourist seasons. Monkeys that had the most contact with tourists ate more soil than others.
The explanation is believed to be that they eat ice cream, chips, chocolate and soda more often than other monkeys, and therefore have a disturbed intestinal flora.
"We know that bacteria and minerals in soil can help restore the gut flora and alleviate the negative effects. We believe that soil has a protective effect," Lemoine Sylvain, one of the researchers behind the study, told The Guardian.
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