Azrou, Morocco---The cedar tree, considered by many to be Morocco's national treasure, is coming under attack from climate change, greedy humans who indulge in illegal logging, and monkeys.
The noble conifer Cedrus Atlantica covers about 134,000 hectares (330,000 acres) of the North African country. Although less well-known than its Lebanese cousin Cedrus Libani, the Moroccan cedar is still a potent symbol of national pride.
The cedars cover vast stretches of Morocco's mountainous Middle Atlas, near the town of Azrou.
It is these rugged slopes that are home to a rare and iconic cedar, named after World War I French general Henri Gouraud, who was stationed in Morocco to take charge of colonial troops.
A key tourist attraction, the Gouraud cedar stands 42 metres (140 feet) tall and is 900 years old, with one distinctive branch that juts out like a candelabra.
"It is really beautiful, like being in Switzerland," said Badreddin, a recent visitor from Tunisia.
The area is a trekker's paradise, and home to local monkeys known as Barbary macaques, as well as sheep and goats, which have in recent decades had to change their eating habits due to waves of drought.
The monkeys are known to feed on plants and insects, and enjoy peanuts that visitors throw their way.
But experts have noted that in recent years the monkeys have been forced to alter their diets, chewing on bark to boost their calcium intake and nibbling small branches that sprout from the cedars.
Like the region's 800,000 sheep, goat and cows, the animals have become more and more sedentary due to water shortages that have led to deforestation.
"Water shortages compounded by the behaviour of the animals are contributing to the withering of the cedars," said Abderrahim Derrou, the director of the Ifran national park in the region.
AFP
