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Gibralter apes form captive management company

A troop of Gibralter's barbary macaque monkeys has been hired by Mega Broker Inc (MBI) to form a captive management company on the Mediterranean island. At present there are some 230 of the apes in five troops occupying the area of the Upper Rock. The apes are quite used to human interaction after years of serving as a tourist attraction. But this is believed to be the first time that monkeys have been employed in the financial services industry.

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"We first looked at setting up a captive management company on Gibralter to take advantage of the EU passport, which allows Gibralter captives to write insurance business across all EU states," says Trevor Frontman, head of captive services at MBI. "Our only concern was the setting up costs."

However, during his research on the island Frontman was impressed by the island's monkey's ability to learn simple administrative tasks in exchange for fruit or nuts. Frontman went on to teach members of one of the island's troops how to issue policies and book claims.

"They are still wild animals and will bite if frightened or annoyed," Frontman says. "But we think that will help concentrate the minds of risk managers who think their captives are just playthings. They've been trained not to bite if they think that risks have been properly rated."

In return for running the captive management company, the macaques receive a daily supply of fresh water and vegetables, fruit and seeds to supplement natural food resources (leaves, olives, roots, seeds and flowers) and are also provided with veterinary care.

"Unlike captive managers in other sunny island domiciles, our monkeys will not be distracted by extra-curricular activities such as sailing, scuba diving or beach volley ball," says Frontman. "Ok, so they openly play with their genitals, but they are captive managers after all."