LIVE CHAT WITH EUGENE CUSSONS Thank you to everyone for joining our live chat with Eugene Cussons, star of Escape to Chimp Eden, on Friday, April 4, 2008. We had 4,483 unique visitors who together asked an incredible 10,026 questions. Here's the transcript from the chat — enjoy!
Animal Planet: Welcome to Animal Planet's live chat with Eugene Cussons, host of Escape to Chimp Eden. Eugene is here to answer all your questions about your favorite chimps, the Chimp Eden sanctuary, how he got involved with chimp rescue and more. So, ask away!
Eugene Cussons: It's really great to have everyone here to chat tonight. I'd like to thank everyone for coming.
DeniseK: Do you and your wife live at the compound or somewhere else?
Eugene Cussons: My house is about 35 feet from the infant enclosure, between the education center and chimp quarantine. Alisa: When Cozi claps his hands, does it have any specific meaning other than showing aggression? LOVE your show! Eugene Cussons: Thank you very much. When Cozi does his clapping it's mostly to have a bigger display, trying to show his strength. You can imagine if you don't want to hit someone else, you'd hit yourself. He claps his hands to make his displays bigger. damonte: How did it feel to be almost pulled out of the tree by Jao? Eugene Cussons: It was a very scary moment for me, and I felt like time stopped at that moment. When it happened it was a surreal moment because for the past 15 months no such event had happened. It was always in the back of my mind it could happen. I just did what I had to get out of the situation. When I saw Jao act so aggressively I could almost not believe it was the same chimp that needed me for so long to go in and refused to be with other chimps. Jude: What are the plans for the chimps that can't be successfully integrated back into the wild? Eugene Cussons: The plan that we have right now is to keep on giving them a better life. So, the group sizes will grow. The chimps that can't go back will be separated from those that do have a possibility. So a chimp like Cozi will leave the group he's in right now and go into another group because he needs more time. The enclosure sizes will increase as well. Cozi has a relatively small enclosure size now. In time it will grow, as will the size of his family that will not go back into the wild. In essence, they'll stay at Chimp Eden but have a good life, with more and more space, and with less human interaction. owned13: What is the worst thing the chimps have done to you? Eugene Cussons: The worst thing that happened to me was the Jao incident. Although, I have never suffered an injury to date, I think that is because I'm so cautious and the measures I take. Hopefully, I can keep on with that tradition. |
advertisement
Get the TV Schedule
|
-
our sites
-
video
mobile
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
