Where do the Barbary Macaques of Gibraltar come from?
How Barbary macaques originally came to Gibraltar remains unclear. There are
two hypotheses:
- The Barbary macaques of Gibraltar represent the remnant native European population.
This is unconfirmed, although some authors claim that macaques may still have
been living in Spain as late as the 1800's. What is certain is that the species,
or its immediate ancestor, did live in Spain and other parts of Europe (including
England) during the Ice Ages.
- The alternative hypothesis postulates that, at least as early as the Moorish
occupation of southern Spain (711-1492 AD), monkeys were exported from North
Africa to Gibraltar. Spanish histories from the 17th century mention monkeys
on the Rock of Gibraltar. When the British took over the Rock in 1704, they
found monkeys living in a more or less wild condition.
The population of monkeys on the Rock over the last 200 years has fluctuated
considerably. In 1893 it may have been about 130 animals, but this figure
declined to a low of only 3 during the early 1940's, partly due to an outbreak
of gastro-enteritis. Winston Churchill subsequently ordered that the colony
of monkeys should be maintained at all costs on the rock in order to comply
with the traditional belief that this was necessary for the territory to remain
in British hands. A large but unknown number of additional animals was then
imported from North Africa between 1942 and 1946. It is assumed that all the
present animals on the Rock are descended from the last series of importations.
A
very early story about the Barbary macaques of Gibraltar tells how the monkeys
saved the British enclave during the Great Siege of 1779-1783. When the Spaniards
attempted to surprise the garrison in the town by climbing the steep eastern
rock face, they had to walk past a number of sleeping monkeys. The monkeys (and
the soldiers) were so startled that the noise alerted the British of the impending
attack. This incident, if true, may have sparked the tradition that has subsequently
linked the British Army with the monkeys. The monkeys are a symbol of British
sovereignty and the legend is that as long they remain, Gibraltar will be British...
