The Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden, commonly referenced as Chimp Eden is a 1000 ha (2,471.1 acre) game reserve

Game reserve

A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....

 and sanctuary

Sanctuary

A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...

 for rescued chimpanzee

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...

s, in the Umhloti Nature Reserve, near Barberton, Mpumalanga

Barberton, Mpumalanga

Barberton is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, which has its origin in the 1880s gold rush in the region. It is situated in the De Kaap Valley and is fringed by the Mkhonjwa Mountains...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Opened in 2006 by founder and director Eugene Cussons

Eugene Cussons

Eugene Cussons is the managing director of "Chimpanzee Eden" as well as Rescue Director of Jane Goodall Institute in South Africa. He is also the host of Animal Planet's Escape to Chimp Eden.-Early life:...

, in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute

Jane Goodall Institute

The Jane Goodall Institute is an international wildlife and environment conservation organization with branches in many countries. It was founded in 1977 by English primatologist Dr...

 (JGI), its purpose is to provide a permanent and safe home for chimpanzees who are rescued from abusive and unfortunate circumstances from areas where these great apes are being constantly exploited by humans through the bushmeat

Bushmeat

Bushmeat initially referred to the hunting of wild animals in West and Central Africa and is a calque from the French viande de brousse. Today the term is commonly used for meat of terrestrial wild animals, killed for subsistence or commercial purposes throughout the humid tropics of the Americas,...

 trade, pet trade and entertainment industries. At the sanctuary, the chimps are rehabilitated with the help of their care takers in being re-introduced back into chimpanzee social skills such as learning how to climb trees and live in a social group with others of their own kind.

Chimp Eden is the only sanctuary for chimpanzees within South Africa. Part of the reserve it is home to game animals such as giraffes, zebra etc. which are also managed and conserved by the director of Chimp Eden. Chimp Eden has rescued chimpanzees from Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

, Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and rescued chimpanzees from the Johannesburg Zoo

Johannesburg Zoo

The Johannesburg Zoo is a zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa. Established in 1904, it has traditionally been owned and operated by the City of Johannesburg...

.

Juvenile enclosure 1

This enclosure contains 12 chimpanzees, all rescued individuals. Zac, an adult male who was rescued from Angola after being found chained to a tree outside a nightclub in Luanda, is the dominant male in this group. Zac took over the group only recently from old male Joao, who was kept at a zoo in Mozambique. Other members of the group include Cozy, was found rescued from Italy where he was kept in solitary confinement and needed rehabilitation into chimp social skills. There were two young females, Xena, who was rescued from United Arab and Sally, who was rescued from Luanda, Angola. In April 2007 five baby chimps( Charlie, Nina, Thomas, Dinka and Zee) were rescued from Sudan where they were all victims of the bushmeat

Bushmeat

Bushmeat initially referred to the hunting of wild animals in West and Central Africa and is a calque from the French viande de brousse. Today the term is commonly used for meat of terrestrial wild animals, killed for subsistence or commercial purposes throughout the humid tropics of the Americas,...

 trade. All have settled in remarkably well. Two others, Sampa and Tony, were rescued from Angola were they were being confined to an inhospitable cage. Tony was found to have cataracts in one of his eyes and after a life saving operation , he is a lot better now. Currently in this group are Alpha male Zac, Joao, Cozy, Sampa, Tony, Dinka, Zee, Nina, Sally, Xena, Charlie and Thomas.

Juvenile enclosure 2

This enclosure contains 12 chimpanzees, all rescued individuals. Charles, who was rescued from an entertainment circus in South Africa and arrived in December 2008, is the dominant male in this group. This group contains two adult females, Jessica the dominant female who was rescued from an entertainment circus in South Africa and Martha, who was rescued from being kept in solitary confinement in Ghana. In July 2008 , 7 babies (Charlene, Marco, Mowgli, Azie, Bazia, Mary and Tamu)were rescued from Sudan where they were all victims of the bushmeat trade. Other two, Suzie who was rescued from the entertainment industry and Lily, who was a victim of the bushmeat trade. Currently in this group are Alpha male Charles, Jessica, Martha, Suzie, Lily, Marco, Bazia, Mary, Charlene, Mowgli, Tamu and Azie.

Adult enclosure

This enclosure contains eight chimpanzees, all rescued individuals and is the only group composed entirely of adult chimps. Amadeus, who was relocated to the sanctuary from Johannesburg Zoo, is the dominant male in this group. Amadeus took over the group after former alpha male Abu, who was also relocated to the sanctuary from Johannesburg Zoo. Other members include Nicky, who was rescued from being kept as a pet which humanised him, and Nicky is the second ranking male and has a tendency to constantly court the females, which usually gets him into trouble. The females include Jinga, the dominant female who was rescued from Liquor factory, Mimi, who was rescued from a solitary confinement situated near a diesel generator, Lika, who was rescued from Luanda, Angola where she was a victim of a bushmeat trade, Josephine, who was rescued from a solitary confinement in a shipping container in Luanda, Angola,and Claudette, who was relocated to the sanctuary from Johannesburg Zoo and finally the recently rescued Claudine, who arrived at the sanctuary recently. Currently in this group are Alpha male Amadeus, Nicky, Jinga, Mimi, Josephine, Claudette,and Lika.

Guest House

Chimp Eden also has a boutique hotel where visitors can rent a place to stay during their visit. Tours are carried out throughout the sanctuary and game reserve, as the chimps are not the only attraction to see. There are volunteer programmes which enable the recruitment of sufficient keepers as well as adoption scheme which enables the sanctuary to continue its rescue and rehabilitation work with the chimpanzees.

Escape to Chimp Eden

The Chimp Eden sanctuary was featured on the Animal Planet

Animal Planet

Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...

 television series, Escape to Chimp Eden

Escape to Chimp Eden

Escape to Chimp Eden is a television series broadcast on the Animal Planet network that premiered on February 8, 2008. The series examines the rescue of abused and neglected chimpanzees.-History:...

. The programme covers the work at the sanctuary, daring rescue missions carried out by Chimp Eden founder and director, Eugene Cussons

Eugene Cussons

Eugene Cussons is the managing director of "Chimpanzee Eden" as well as Rescue Director of Jane Goodall Institute in South Africa. He is also the host of Animal Planet's Escape to Chimp Eden.-Early life:...

and human elements.