Gibraltar is the only place in Europe where monkeys live at liberty. These are Berber monkey. Scientific "Macaca Sylvanus.Monkeys are called the Gibraltar Rocks also '' Monkeys of the Rock ''.
Today, the Rock of Gibraltar forms a peninsula jutting out into the Strait of Gibraltar from the southern coast of Spain. The promontory is linked to the continent by means of a sandy tombolo with a maximum elevation of 3 m. To the north, the Rock rises vertically from sea level up to 411.5 m at Rock Gun Battery. The Rock's highest point stands 426 m near the south end above the strait at O'Hara's Battery.
The Rock's central peak, Signal Hill and the top station of the Gibraltar Cable Car, stands at an elevation of 387 m.
The near-cliffs along the eastern side of the Rock drop down to a series of wind-blown sand slopes that date to the glaciations when sea levels were lower than today, and a sandy plain extended east from the base of the Rock.
The western face, where the City of Gibraltar is located, is comparatively less steep.
The origin of these monkeys is not entirely clear. Probably brought by people from Morocco. In the past, Berber monkeys also lived in southern and central Europe, and Gibraltar monkeys could be their descendants.
Legend tells us that the British authority in Gibraltar will end when the last monkey leaves the rock. The legend is supposed to have a basis in the story from the time of the siege in 1779-1783. The monkeys are to warn the Angles agaiBerbernight attack by the Spaniards and the French.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill commissioned the import of berber monkeys from Morocco to improve the genetic design in a narrow community of living and sick monkeys.
Gíbraltar is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It lies in south-west Europe at the far southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and has great strategic importance since the Gibraltar Strait connects the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and Europe and Africa.
Gibraltar lies on the north side of the Strait of Gibraltar, that is, the place where Europe is closest to Africa.
From the eastern side, we notice from the far side a steep cliff (Upper Rock) above the Algeciras bay. Everywhere present monkeys, a cave with stones St. Michael's Cave and in the rocks excavated defensive positions from the siege period 1779-1783 (Siege Tunnels) are the main tourist attractions.
The city of Gibraltar lies on a narrow strip on the east side, where the rock is less steep. On the southern cape (Europa Point) there is a lighthouse built in 1841.
