Editing Morocco (section)

=== Biodiversity ===
{{main|Wildlife of Morocco}}
[[File:Portrait of a father.jpg|thumb|An adult male [[Barbary macaque]] carrying his offspring, a behaviour rarely found in other primates]]
[[File:Caracal - Flickr - Ragnhild & Neil Crawford (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[Caracal]]]]
Morocco has a wide range of [[biodiversity]]. It is part of the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean basin]], an area with exceptional concentrations of endemic species undergoing rapid rates of habitat loss, and is therefore considered to be a hotspot for conservation priority.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Myers|first1=Norman|last2=Mittermeier|first2=Russell A.|last3=Mittermeier|first3=Cristina G.|last4=da Fonseca|first4=Gustavo A. B.|last5=Kent|first5=Jennifer|date= 2000|title=Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities|journal=Nature|volume=403|issue=6772|pages=853–858|doi=10.1038/35002501|pmid=10706275|bibcode=2000Natur.403..853M|s2cid=4414279}}</ref> [[Bird|Avifauna]] are notably variant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.africanconservation.org/moroccoprofile.html |title=Profile on Morocco |access-date=10 May 2007 |publisher=African Conservation Foundation |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040302201903/http://www.africanconservation.org/moroccoprofile.html |archive-date = 2 March 2004}}</ref> The avifauna of Morocco includes a total of 454 species, five of which have been [[introduced species|introduced]] by humans, and 156 are rarely or accidentally seen.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.go-south.org/08_Go_SouthBulletin/gsb_7_15-55.pdf|author=Bergier, P.|author2=Thévenot, M.|year=2006|title=Liste des oiseaux du Maroc|journal=Go-South Bull|volume=3|pages=51–83|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118223945/http://www.go-south.org/08_Go_SouthBulletin/gsb_7_15-55.pdf|archive-date=18 January 2012}}</ref> Morocco is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: [[Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests]], [[Mediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe]], [[Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets]], [[Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe]], [[Mediterranean woodlands and forests]] and [[North Saharan steppe and woodlands]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |display-authors=1 |year=2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |issn=0006-3568 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869 |doi-access=free |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad}}</ref>

The [[Barbary lion]], hunted to extinction in the wild, was a subspecies native to Morocco and is a national emblem.<ref name=CIA/> The last Barbary lion in the wild was shot in the Atlas Mountains in 1922.<ref>{{Cite book|editor=Nowell K, Jackson P|title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan|chapter-url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf|year=1996|publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group|location=Gland, Switzerland|isbn=978-2-8317-0045-8|pages=17–21|chapter=Panthera Leo|access-date=20 March 2011|archive-date=7 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807215533/http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The other two primary predators of northern Africa, the [[Atlas bear]] and [[Barbary leopard]], are now extinct and critically endangered, respectively. Relic populations of the [[West African crocodile]] persisted in the [[Draa river]] until the 20th century.<ref>"[http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0014734 Crocodiles in the Sahara Desert: An Update of Distribution, Habitats and Population Status for Conservation Planning in Mauritania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810113430/http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0014734 |date=10 August 2018 }}". ''[[PLOS ONE]]''. 25 February 2011.</ref> The Barbary macaque, a primate endemic to Morocco and Algeria, is also facing extinction due to offtake for trade<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nijman|first1=Vincent|last2=Bergin|first2=Daniel|last3=Lavieren|first3=Els van|date=1 July 2015|title=Barbary macaques exploited as photo-props in Marrakesh's punishment square|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280111452|journal=ResearchGate|volume=Jul–Sep|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=31 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031133214/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280111452|url-status=live}}</ref> human interruption, urbanisation, wood and real estate expansion that diminish forested area—the macaque's habitat.

Trade of animals and plants for food, pets, medicinal purposes, souvenirs and photo props is common across Morocco, despite laws making much of it illegal.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bergin|first1=Daniel|last2=Nijman|first2=Vincent|date=21 December 2015|title=Potential benefits of impending Moroccan wildlife trade laws, a case study in carnivore skins|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287807462|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=25|issue=1|pages=199–201|doi=10.1007/s10531-015-1042-1|s2cid=34533018|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=7 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107220433/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287807462_Potential_benefits_of_impending_Moroccan_wildlife_trade_laws_a_case_study_in_carnivore_skins|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bergin|first1=Daniel|last2=Nijman|first2=Vincent|date=1 November 2014|title=Open, Unregulated Trade in Wildlife in Morocco's Markets|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267748463|journal=ResearchGate|volume=26|issue=2|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=31 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031133219/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267748463|url-status=live}}</ref> This trade is unregulated and causing unknown reductions of wild populations of native Moroccan wildlife. Because of the proximity of northern Morocco to Europe, species such as cacti, tortoises, mammal skins, and high-value birds (falcons and bustards) are harvested in various parts of the country and exported in appreciable quantities, with especially large volumes of eel harvested – 60 tons exported to the Far East in the period 2009‒2011.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nijman|first1=Vincent|last2=Bergin|first2=Daniel|last3=Lavieren|first3=Els van|date=1 September 2016|title=Conservation in an ever-globalizing world: wildlife trade in, from, and through Morocco, a gateway to Europe|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307598081|journal=ResearchGate|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-date=5 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905012505/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307598081_Conservation_in_an_ever-globalizing_world_wildlife_trade_in_from_and_through_Morocco_a_gateway_to_Europe|url-status=live}}</ref>