Did you know there are wild monkeys in Europe? Well, not specifically in Portugal, but pretty close – in Gibraltar, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in Spain. They occupy Gibraltar’s ‘Rock’, which is home to five troops of monkeys, known by the locals as monos (Spanish for monkeys).

Gibraltar is home to the only wild monkey population in the whole of Europe. They are Barbary Macaques and are Gibraltar’s crown jewel of wildlife, and an important tourism draw.

They dominate the Rock, and as the last free-ranging monkeys left in Europe, they unwittingly milk that privilege, oblivious to the anxiety they cause as they run amok through town, foraging in rubbish bins and harassing the locals. They have grown so used to humans now that little scares them, not even the sharp flick of a broom or the shrill screams of children.

The theory behind their presence is that they were probably brought to Gibraltar as pets by the Moors, who lived there between 700 and 1492. However, there is another school of thought that believes the original macaques were leftovers from a population that had spread over southern Europe up to 5 million years ago.

There’s a legend that between 1779 and 1782 during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, a combined effort between France and Spain was undertaken to seize Gibraltar back from the British. Apparently during a surprise attack one night, the monkeys were disturbed, which resulted in the British being alerted by the noise, and the attack was abandoned. This event created the legend that so long as the monkeys live on the Rock, the British have control and the territory will remain safely under British rule.

The British have embraced this piece of folklore - not even Churchill, in the throes of World War II - ignored it. Macaque numbers had diminished to a handful in 1944, and with British morale flagging and the Rock's monkey population dwindling, he took no chances. He secretly ordered a shipment of Barbary macaques to boost the monkey population.

Why is Gibraltar so important?

Gibraltar is a mere 5k long and 1.2 wide and ‘The Rock’ itself Is 426 m high. This peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean, despite being an obvious part of Spain, was ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht at the end of the War of Spanish Succession. It is a strategic position where the Med and Atlantic join, and at its narrowest point, is only 8.9 miles wide, which results in close geographical proximity for Europe to Africa.

There are now nearly 300 of these tailless primates on Gibraltar, and analysis of their DNA reveals that they are descended from macaques from Morocco and Algeria. Little did Churchill envision how big the monkey population would grow, nor the shenanigans that would come along with it.

They are still wild animals, despite their familiarity with humans. Surprisingly, there is plenty of wild food on the Rock for the macaques - their plant diet ranges from olive leaves and fruits to the roots of introduced Bermuda buttercups, and this is supplemented with live prey, such as small lizards and numerous invertebrates.

Neighbours or Nuisances?

But inevitably, being highly intelligent and adaptable, the monkeys also are fond of human handouts – and therein lies the problem. Young macaques climb onto the roofs of tourist buses, and hang precariously onto the wing mirrors, tapping at the glass. Tourists crowd around these friendly macaques to take selfies. People hand out peanuts and food, despite signs everywhere saying ‘please do not feed the macaques’, and they will happily steal your phone or bag in their cheeky quest for food, and people get bitten or scratched, mainly when the food they were after was forcefully taken away.

Barbary macaques live in large, social groups, and within the group there is a strict hierarchy. Each animal knows its place within the group - the babies of the mothers with a high status are lucky. The babies ‘inherit’ that high status. The males must decide amongst themselves who’s boss. I guess it’s a case of monkey rule in this corner of Europe!

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan