South Africa

Five new chimps from Angola are now in quarantine at their new home, Chimpanzee Eden. For most of them, this is the first time since infancy that they will be free to touch other chimps, climb trees or feel the sunshine. 

Their arrival follows more than two years of negotiation with the Angolan government, and two missions into that country. 

The latest of these trips took place in late November, and at one stage it seemed as though Eugene Cussons and his team would again have to return home empty-handed. At the eleventh-hour, however, things finally fell into place, leaving the team just one night to rush around collecting the five chimps from three different locations in Luanda before their early morning flight to South Africa.

First stop was to collect 17-year old Zacharius (Zach) and Guida (7), both of whom were chained to trees outside a nightclub. Zach, a Bonobo (see story below), had been chained his entire life. His chain had last been unlocked nine years ago, and the key had long since disappeared.

The two were chained to trees four metres apart, leaving Zach just unable to touch his friend, Guida. They were there to provide entertainment to the nightly visitors, and were given beer and cigarettes to add to the amusement.

When Zach’s chain was cut, the entire team was hugely moved. As cameraman Jacques Goosen notes, “an incredible feeling went through all of us when that poor chimp was freed.”

Next to be rescued during that incredible night was Lica, who had lived in a small indoor cage for 13 years, and not seen sunlight for nine years. She shows the stereotypical repetitive behaviour common among chimps that have been confined their whole lives, and is very thin and malnourished. Her owner loved her and looked after her the best he could, having rescued her from the market where she was being sold as bushmeat. 

Finally, the team moved on to a liquor factory where three chimps had been kept in cages. Unfortunately one died recently. However the team was in time to rescue two females, Mimi (8) and Xinga (11). 

During that long night, vet Dr Andre Beytell was kept busy drugging the animals so that they could be loaded into their crates, and then onto the truck.

The chimps were then driven to the airport, where they were loaded onto the plane. More delays met the exhausted the crew when they landed in Johannesburg at lunchtime the following day. They had to spend hours waiting for Customs to release the precious cargo, and the crates then had to be trimmed so that they fitted onto the truck that was to drive the chimps to Nelspruit. 

The team finally arrived at Chimpanzee Eden around 2am the next morning – absolutely exhausted, but elated. And the chimps? They have settled in beautifully, and seem totally unstressed by the adventure.

For Sanctuary Manager Phillip Cronje, the arrival of Zach and Guida was of major personal importance.

“I had met these chimpanzees in December 2005,” he says. “They were tied to their trees and lived out in the elements all the time. When I left Angola then, I knew we would get Sally out, but everyone said we would never get these two out.

“Through sheer perseverance, the team did it.”

“We have reached an enormous milestone with this latest rescue,” says Eugene. “I’m on an all-time high right now as 2006 draws to a close. We’re making a real difference, and it’s thrilling.”