The Gibraltar monkey that has escaped from the Rock, has jumped over the border fence and roamed from roof to roof along the Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz, 64,000 inhabitants) may not know the legend that says that the day the Barbary macaques (
Macaca sylvanus
) disappear from the Rock, British rule over the only remaining colony in Europe will end.
The sighting of the escaped monkey, which has been wandering around Spanish territory for several days, has become a local entertainment, after it was seen jumping by the Menéndez Tolosa and Virgen de la Esperanza institutes (both on Avenida de la Banqueta) , messing around on the rooftops of the Santiago-Conchal-Castillo neighborhood or hanging around in the Pueblo Mediterráneo urbanization, according to a note from the Linense City Council.
This same Tuesday, a search and capture operation for sedation is underway on the rooftops of the town, partly broadcast live on TVE.
Attempts to capture the primate, a large adult male, have so far been unsuccessful due to the speed and resentment shown by the animal, accustomed to human proximity, since they are a tourist attraction in Gibraltar, where they are fed by the colonial government.
Agents from the National and Local police, as well as the Seprona of the Civil Guard and two specialists from the Roca branch, have already tried to capture the monkey that has crossed La Línea.
The violent reactions of these animals are common in these macaques, as many tourists know who have approached them in their habitat in the San Miguel caves, the last refuge left for these primates in Europe and which was also the home of the last Neanderthals in the south of the continent.
The Local Police carry out support tasks in the rescue of a primate that appeared in La Línea https://t.co/gvYSZX8z9z
— La Línea de la Concepción City Council (@Ayto_LaLinea) February 5, 2024
The rescue task is being carried out by staff from the Castellar Zoo, as an authorized center for animals from International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
In addition, two technicians from Gibraltar have traveled to La Línea to cooperate in these tasks, made difficult "by the enormous agility and speed of the animal", as the La Línea City Council has stated.
At the moment, it is unknown if the primate has appeared in La Línea on its own initiative or if it has been moved by someone illegally.
The City Council admits that the presence of the wild animal altered the classes at the Tolosa institute.
The Barbary or Gibraltar monkeys that inhabit the Rock, the only free population of this species left in Europe, are about 300 that live in the high areas of the rocks and are such an important icon for Gibraltarians that there is no store of Main Street souvenirs that do not sell them in the form of stuffed animals or printed on mugs, plates, T-shirts or magnets.
They have been there at least since the arrival of the Arabs who settled on the Rock between the year 700 and 1492, according to some local scientific studies.
Historical writings also recount its presence at the beginning of the 18th century, before the British arrived at the Rock.
The hunt continues.
And the popular talk in La Línea, too.