Monkeys learn to eat soil to cope with junk food

Soil helps monkeys' stomachs settle after calorie-rich snacks from tourists, research suggests.

Gibraltar’s monkeys eat mud ‘to avoid upset stomachs from tourist junk food’

Macaques have learned to eat soil to avert gut irritation caused by salty and sugary snacks, researchers believe Troops of monkeys living on the Rock of Gibraltar have learned to eat soil in what scientists believe is an effort to settle their stomachs after all the junk food they receive – and sometimes steal – from crowds of tourists. Researchers spotted the intentional mud eating, known as geophagy, while observing groups of Barbary macaques in the territory. Monkeys that had the most cont...

By Ian Sample Science editor

Monkeys hooked on Haribo eat soil to settle their stomachs - The Times

Monkeys hooked on Haribo eat soil to settle their stomachs  The Times

Gibraltar’s monkeys may be eating soil to cope with junk food from tourists

On the tourist-packed ⁠Rock of Gibraltar, one of the most common sights is monkeys ⁠begging for food – and sometimes stealing sweet and salty snacks from unsuspecting visitors. Scientists now have documented an unusual behaviour among these macaques that may help them ward off a bellyache from all this junk food. Researchers said the monkeys have been observed eating soil more frequently, a behaviour they said may help the macaques avoid stomach upset from consuming human snacks. They found t...

By Reuters

Monkeys eating soil to soothe stomachs after eating too much junk food

Barbary macaques are munching on junk food ‘extremely rich in calories, sugar, salt, and dairy,’ say researchers

By Maira Butt

Gibraltar's monkeys find clever way to avoid junk food bellyache

Researchers said the monkeys have been observed eating soil more frequently, a behavior that may help them avoid stomach upset from consuming human snacks.