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Escape to Chimp Eden will make South Africans
more aware of the plight of chimpanzees and
introduce them to the JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden
team as well as our chimps. If you watch the
show, you’ll soon learn all about Eugene and
Phillip, but we thought we’d give you a sneak
preview:
Eugene Cussons was born in 1979, into a family
deeply rooted in the African conservation ethic.
Over generations, the Cussons family has
transformed its estate on the eastern border of
South Africa into a game reserve. Now, under
Eugene’s management, the reserve has become home
to JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden, South Africa’s first
chimpanzee sanctuary.
Eugene hopes that Escape to Chimp Eden will
bring South Africans closer to the plight of
primates, and have major lasting benefits for
chimps in Africa.
“It’s not the responsibility of the rest of the
world to fix Africa’s problems, and yet we often
stand back and watch,” says Eugene. “I’m hoping
the show will put South Africans in the hot
seat; that it will engender a will to help our
neighbours and contribute to saving animals.”
Eugene is also JGI SA’s Rescue Director for
Africa – mandated by the Institute to fly to any
African country without a sanctuary of it own to
rescue chimps held in illegal captivity, or
endangered by war or economic distress.
Eugene is uniquely qualified for his twin roles.
He graduated in Business Management and
Economics at the University of Pretoria, and
went on to develop software for financial
trading applications. Deciding that he didn’t
want to be deskbound for the rest of his working
life, he returned to the family game reserve to
combine his management skills with his love for
the outdoors.
He has advanced level certification as a scuba
diver, boat skipper, skydiver and rock climber.
He’s also an expert off-road driver, and held
the position of Head Instructor for the Land
Rover Experience in South Africa. On chimpanzee
rescue missions, this adventure sports
background helps Eugene make clear decisions
even under deepest stress.
Eugene has featured in several South African
television productions, and is now making the
leap to international recognition as presenter
and protagonist of Animal Planet’s Escape to
Chimp Eden series.
He is married to Natasha, and they have an
eighteen month old daughter, Haley.
Phillip Cronje left the Johannesburg Zoo to join
JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden on November 30, 2005. Two
days later he was babysitting Sally, a baby
chimp, in Angola - supposedly for a couple of
weeks. He finally returned home six weeks later,
having missed Christmas, New Year and his son’s
birthday.
Dr Jane Goodall in discussion with Phillip
Cronje
This introduction was to set the tone - life as
sanctuary manager is never predictable!
Phillip plays a vital role at the Sanctuary. He
is responsible for the welfare of the chimps and
for all decisions regarding them, from
introductions and family groups to rescues. He
is employed by JGI SA, and has three keepers
reporting to him. Phillip is also actively
involved in public relations for the Sanctuary
and personally collects food donations from the
area. He sits on the JGI SA Joint Management
Board in an advisory capacity and is a member of
the Ethics Committee.
His background is firmly in primate management.
Apart from one year managing a private game farm
in Paarl, Phillip has worked with primates at
the Johannesburg Zoo his entire working life. He
joined as a technical assistant in the bird
section, which he didn’t enjoy. Luckily the girl
working in the chimp section was unhappy too,
and they swapped. Phillip became the Zoo’s
Primate Keeper in 1987. He holds a Diploma in
Nature Conservation and a B.Tech degree in Veld
and Game Management.
Coincidentally, it was Phillip who was to care
for the first chimps rescued by JGI SA, way back
in the mid-1990s. The group, including Amadeus,
Abu, Nikki and Claudette who all subsequently
moved to the Sanctuary, was rescued from Angola
and Liberia and cared for at the Zoo.
When the Cussons family and JGI SA partnered to
start JGI SA Chimpanzee Eden Phillip was often
approached for his advice and expertise. He was
then offered the job of Sanctuary manager.
“Phillip is probably the best qualified primate
keeper in the country, so we were
extraordinarily lucky that he accepted,” says
Sue Slotar, JGI SA’s executive director. “He is
very highly regarded in the field of primate
care and conservation.”
The decision to accept the new role wasn’t made
lightly as it meant Phillip, his wife Kim and
two sons Marc and Sean, then 12 and 10, had to
relocate from Gauteng to Mpumalanga.
“Marc, a keen rugby player, was about to move to
Jeppe Boys High and was not keen to give up on
this dream to move to a ‘dorp’,” says Phillip.
“However we believed the lifestyle would be less
stressful, and the cost of living less, and when
Marc saw a Spur in Nelspruit he decided all
would be OK.”
Kim had to handle the move while Phillip was
babysitting Sally. The baby chimp had been
rescued by South African doctors from her
miserable caged existence in a restaurant in
Luanda and was being cared for at a construction
site. Her carers, however, were returning home
for Christmas and the Angolan government had not
yet issued a permit for her move to South
Africa, despite promises.
“I was left with three Portuguese-speaking
Brazilians and a baby chimp!” says Phillip, who
then hit on the brilliant plan of taking Sally
with him to try and persuade the officials to
issue the permit.
“This didn’t have the desired effect at all, and
I almost ended up in jail instead!” he says.
Since then, he and Eugene have established a
much more cordial working relationship with
Angola’s Department of Flora and Fauna, and have
rescued several chimps from that country.
Sally eventually moved to the Sanctuary about
six months later.
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