Gibraltar: Barbary Macaques of Gibraltar

There are approximately 250 Barbary macaques or Barbary apes in Gibraltar. They are endemic to the neighboring Morocco and Algiers and were probably brought over from there. They inhabit the Upper Rock of Gibraltar and are a real tourist attraction as they come close (real close as to aggressively open the zippers of backpacks and take out food) and are very playful – males, females, and the young ones. Gibraltarians are very proud of their monkeys and superstitious about preserving them – the legend goes that when all monkeys are gone, Gibraltar will go to Spain. When the number dropped to 7, Winston Churchill ordered to bring more from Morocco. This is the only wild monkey population in Europe! And in my humble opinion – the main tourist attraction in Gibraltar!