Soil hits the news: Gibraltar macaques munching soil to counter junk food calories—nature’s rough workaround. Quick bio: soil = pedosphere, supports plant life, stores and purifies water.
Research from Cambridge has found that Gibraltar's Barbary macaques are eating soil to buffer their digestive systems against high-calorie, low-fiber snacks brought by tourists. The behavior increases during peak holiday seasons and is linked to their contact with humans. The study highlights how primates adapt to human influence.