Eugene Cussons is the managing director of "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:...

 Eden" as well as Rescue Director of 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) in 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...

. He is also the host of 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:...

's 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:...

.

Early life

Eugene Cussons was born in Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...

 region of South Africa. For generations, the Cussons family has been deeply rooted in the African conservation ethic, and Eugene grew up with a special appreciation for African wildlife.
Eugene had a successful career in the corporate world before deciding to build Chimp Eden. He studied business management and economics at the University of Pretoria

University of Pretoria

The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...

, and he then developed software for financial trading applications. Deciding he did not want to be desk bound for the rest of his career, Cussons returned to the family game reserve to combine his management skills with his love for the outdoors.

Chimp Eden

Eugene opened Chimp Eden in 2006 in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). As the managing director of Chimp Eden and the rescue director of JGI South Africa, Eugene has focused Chimp Eden's efforts on rescuing chimps from areas where no one else is willing to venture, such as war-torn countries like 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...

 and 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...

. Personally rescuing the chimps, Eugene brings them back to Chimp Eden, where he takes on the role of caretaker.

Personal life

Eugene Cussons and his wife, Natasha, have a baby girl named Haley. The family calls Chimp Eden "home" and their home is located on the chimp sanctuary. Eugene is also a certified scuba diver, a boat skipper, skydiver and rock climber. He's an expert off-road driver and held the position of head instructor for the Land Rover Experience in South Africa. Eugene has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show to help promote his show Escape to Chimp Eden.