GIBRALTAR’S CHEEKY BARBARY MACAQUES, THE ONLY WILD PRIMATES IN EUROPE
When thinking of monkeys and their natural habitat, one usually associates them with Asian tropical forests, South American rainforests and African mountainous areas, knowing that they prefer warmer climates and most cannot survive in places that are too cold or dry. Despite these facts, the so-called Barbary macaques have lived on the famous Rock of Gibraltar, an overseas territory of Great Britain, for centuries.
Here at the southern tip of Spain, where Europe and Africa are separated by the 14 km-wide straight, a tiny strip of land juts into the water, largely dominated by tourism and the military and clearly patrolled by monkeys. There is enough fossil evidence to show that macaques and other primates and monkeys lived on the European continent thousands of years ago. However, back then the temperatures were wetter and the biodiversity was richer and different than today. As the earth cooled, many animal species migrated to the warm south or died out over time.
Gibraltar attracts thousands of visitors each year. Many come for its duty-free status, others to see its unique airport with a runway that separates Gibraltar from mainland Spain, and a greater number visit to see the rock and the famous monkeys and ask, how did they arrive at the European continent?
The European monkeys also found a new home in North Africa. Today, due to the destruction of their natural habitat, their occurrence is limited to only a few isolated populations in Morocco and Algeria, which is why they have been on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 2009. Only in Gibraltar is the population increasing.
Here the upper part of the rock, which is designated as a nature reserve, takes up around 40% of the total area. The Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus), also called magot, still live a largely wild, relatively quiet and safe life in large groups. Most stay near the top of the 1,300-foot-high cliff, but others live on lower levels and are not afraid to get too close to people. The braver ones even climb on their shoulders and pull their hair.
Their life expectancy is around 25 years, and for females even 30 years. Their main distinguishing feature, unlike the other species, is the absence of a tail, which is usually used for clinging to trees. This is typical of great apes, which, despite their name, do not include Barbary macaques. They have what is called a vestigial tail, which has developed backwards until it has almost disappeared.
It is believed that the Arabs brought the monkeys with them on their journeys through the Mediterranean in the 8th century. They probably wouldn’t exist anymore if people hadn’t taken care of them. From the time they arrived, the British were an important part of their survival, feeding them, caring for them and naming them. Today, every monkey is documented and given a serial number to ensure its preservation.
Read the full article in Issue 17
