"Yes," Ernest says. "This is the myth that we have here in Gibraltar. They say that if the apes no longer exist, then the control of the Rock will go from Britain to Spain. But I think this will not happen. The apes will thrive."

This myth has existed since the Spanish began making a series of military bungles against the British on the Rock in an attempt to seize what they could never keep even from the Moors. The Spanish finally resorted to the statement that when the monkeys perish, the British will lose Gibraltar.

When the ape population dwindled to about seven individuals near the end of World War II, Sir Winston Churchhill ordered a replenishment from Morocco. In a speech, he said that Gibraltar will remain British as long as the apes shall live.

Ernest pauses to fumble with his pack of Dunhill Filters. His perch is a small painted shack. Like all the rest of Gibraltar's human community below us, it is compact and built tightly against the cliff. His view is the best in all of Gibraltar - a view of a great harbor, a city and the Iberian mainland beyond. It is glorious and vaguely tropical. To his back is Africa, to his front the nation that wants him speaking Spanish.

"The fact is, there are now up to five tribes in Gibraltar. The monkey populations are growing and the people are committed to their survival. Five tribes, that's three hundred apes."

"So there is a lot of weight on your shoulders to keep them alive?"

"Yes, yes." He carries no modesty or pride with this statement. It is simply a fact. He must care for the monkeys lest Gibraltar goes the way of Hong Kong.

It's a big responsibility. Gibraltar was an essential military component in the defense against Napolean. It is thought that without its strategic location, the British Isles would now be French. It was important even in the Falkland's War. So important that the Argentines attempted to blow the whole harbor up by sneaking bomb-clad divers into Spain. When all England's Falkland ships would be refueling in port, the diver's would slip into the sea, creating Pearl Harbor II. Spain uncovered and foiled the plot.

Gibraltar was known in Roman times, along with a mountain on the African coast - called back then the Mountain of Apes - as the physical end of the world. Beyond these Straights of Gibraltar swam the dragons and demons of the Atlantic.

Later I say to Jane. "That has to be the best job in the world. Get to sit in the sun, meet people from all over the world, and play with monkeys all day."

"Great for him, maybe." Jane says. Almost as if I was suggesting we give up our careers and join Ernest.

An overfed lady is feeding one monkey a ham and cheese sandwich. The apes do not do well with the food that humans offer them. The signs are everywhere. Do Not Feed the Apes. The reasons are apparent. This human food is overprocessed. A ham and cheese sandwich will make the monkey die of obesity. Obesity from junk food has become the leading killer of the apes on Gibraltar.

The monkeys are notorious thieves, and one medium-sized male snatches the plastic-bagged sandwich from the overfed lady, startling her into a scream. The monkey drops the sandwich and the lady snatches it back, poking it at the monkey's face until he grabs it again.

This act happens every single day on Gibraltar.