AMADEUS

Amadeus's Story

Amadeus, like Abu, was rescued during the Jane Goodall Institute South Africa's first-ever mission, to Angola in 1997. He was to spend around nine years together with Abu at Johannesburg Zoo. At the zoo, Amadeus gained a reputation as an escape artist, and when he first arrived at Chimp Eden he gave an awesome display of power and agility by jumping the high fence of the induction enclosure. His "escape" took him straight into the adjacent and much bigger, forested enclosure, where he began to pluck flowers and then fruit. To date, he hasn't attempted any serious escape from the sanctuary.

Personality

Till recently, Amadeus has always seemed slightly subordinate to Abu, an observer rather than a provoker. Eugene has described him as "the chimp who's always watching." But Amadeus's confidence has grown, and Eugene is now seeing moments where he openly challenges Abu.