Chimp Eden

Chimpanzees are not native to South Africa, and every animal here arrived from somewhere else - orphaned by the bushmeat trade in central and west Africa, confiscated from the pet trade, or retired from entertainment work. The Jane Goodall Institute sanctuary opened in 2006 on a reserve outside Mbombela with large enclosed bush areas rather than cages, and the residents live in social groups that had to be assembled from animals with no families left. Visits are on guided tours at fixed times, walking to viewing decks above the enclosures while a guide gives the individual histories, which is the substance of the visit - the animals are visible but the stories are what stay. The sanctuary is explicit that it is not a zoo and not a release programme: these chimpanzees cannot be returned to the wild, and the work is lifetime care.

History

Eugene Cussons opened the sanctuary in 2006, in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute, in the Umhloti Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga. Among its early rescues were five baby chimpanzees brought from Sudan in April 2007 and seven more in July 2008, and over the years it has taken in animals from Angola, Sudan, Mozambique, Italy, the Central African Republic, Ghana and Dubai; the sanctuary was the subject of the Animal Planet series Escape to Chimp Eden in 2008-2009 (Wikipedia, Chimp Eden).

What you'll find

• Rescued chimpanzees - animals from the bushmeat trade, the pet trade and entertainment.
• Assembled families - social groups built from animals with no surviving troops.
• Guided viewing - decks above large bush enclosures, at set tour times.
• Lifetime care - a sanctuary, explicitly not a release programme.

When to go

All year; morning tours are cooler and the chimps more active. Two to three hours.

Practical notes

Tours run at fixed times only and missing one means waiting. Sightings depend on where the groups are in large enclosures. Viewing is from a distance across barriers. It is a working sanctuary with limited visitor facilities.

Nearby

Mbombela is north; the Kruger's Numbi and Malelane gates are east.

Key facts