Besides humans, they are the only free-living primates in Europe. Although the species is commonly referred to as the "Barbary ape", the Barbary macaque is actually a true monkey. ... About 230 macaques live on the Rock of Gibraltar.

Why are there no primates in Europe?

Researchers in Spain argue that a variety of great apes went extinct in Europe about 7 million years ago because the qualities that allowed them to spread throughout the Old World were the same that sealed their fate. ... Unable to adapt to a diet of leaves, the European apes eventually disappeared, the authors argue.

What countries have primates?

In truth, just four nations—Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—harbor 65 percent of all primate species. And nearly two-thirds of the primates living in those hot spots (we'll call them the Big Four) are facing extinction.