Fauna and flora in Morocco: what actually lives here

Morocco packs a lot of geography into a small footprint. Drive a few hours in almost any direction and the ecosystem changes completely: Atlantic coastline gives way to cedar forest, cedar forest gives way to real desert. There isn't one "Moroccan wildlife" story so much as four or five separate ones stitched together.

Around Ifrane and Azrou, in the Middle Atlas cedar forests, you'll likely run into Barbary macaques. They're the only wild monkey species in Africa north of the Sahara, and one of just a handful found anywhere outside Asia and the Americas. They've grown used to people, often wandering right up to cars along the forest roads. Feeding them is tempting but not good for them, whatever the photos suggest.

Further south, the argan forest belt is a different story again. The tree grows almost nowhere else on earth, and UNESCO has recognised the surrounding biosphere reserve for exactly that reason. Goats really do climb into the branches to eat the fruit; it's not a staged photo. Though enough guides now know where the good photo spots are that a few setups have started expecting a small tip for the privilege.

The Sahara itself is quieter than people expect. Fennec foxes, desert monitors, snakes, and rodents are mostly nocturnal, so a night at a desert camp isn't going to feel like a safari. What you're actually more likely to spot are birds: storks nesting on ramparts and minarets, or migratory flamingos further north along the Atlantic lagoons.