It was a break-up with an ex who had given Christo Myburgh two marmoset monkeys that led to the East Rand man owning a business where he rescues, houses and breeds some of the 24 exotic animals living on his property.
As he was left with the animals when his ex-partner moved overseas, he realised he needed to acquire plenty of knowledge to take care of the small primates.
While it was never his plan to own an exotic pet consultancy business, Myburgh founded Absolute Exotics SA in Benoni in 2020, and after registering it as a formal business in 2022, he now breeds marmoset monkeys, offers information on exotic pets and training to customers who want to adopt or foster them.
“I got another rescue marmoset monkey and couldn’t find more information on the animals and on keeping them. By 2020, I had four to six monkeys and had a lot of information. Because of the pandemic, I had time and turned this into a passion project. A website was created for information about marmosets, and it expanded to more species. We then decided to turn this into a business and supply people with help,” he told TimesLIVE Premium.
Four years later, Myburgh has 24 animals including 18 marmoset monkeys, two pet wolves Bella and Logan, a pet Capuchin monkey and a pet fennec fox. He spends about R8,000 a month on food.
“Since I had marmosets for so long and gained so much knowledge about them, it made more sense to breed them. I also have breeders who give me animals,” he said.
The monkeys go for R7,500 each, which includes health certificates from a professional vet, care training such as feeding and changing nappies, a free pet insurance quote and a full starter pack which includes heating pads, milk, cereal and blankets.
But those are the only animals he breeds as the rest of the exotic animals are his personal pets.
Despite being surrounded by exotic animals, he said he had not faced any danger from his own small pets. Still, he laughed when he recalled waking up from a nap to discover his Capuchin monkey, which he carries everywhere with him, had dismantled his cellphone.
“I accidentally fell asleep with the money next to me and it woke up before me. In the 10-minute gap before I woke up, she was naughty and saw my phone. She neatly took it apart into a hundred pieces. She removed the back cover and the battery and camera units. I woke up and burst into tears. That is the worst-case scenario,” Myburgh said.
In December, Myburg took in Logan, a Canadian timber wolf, which he rescued as its owners complained that it was destructive and they wanted to get rid of it.
However, a day later, on January 1, Logan escaped after being scared by fireworks. Myburgh said he sent out an alarm at 11am that morning and informed the police, the SPCA and got private canine dogs to track the wolf.
“That failed and we sent out infrared drones. We found him that night and paid a private security company to monitor him while we found the best way to catch him. On January 3, we were able to catch him along with our team and the private security company. The moment we caught him, the SPCA tried to confiscate him.”
Due to complaints by neighbours about the animals, Logan was placed at the SPCA while the wolf enclosure was upgraded and electric fencing was erected. Logan was eventually released into Myburgh’s care and now shares the enclosure with another wolf, Bella.
But last month, his business was raided for three days by scores of inspectors including the Benoni SPCA, the Ekurhuleni metro police, the environmental health department, community policing forum.
EMPD spokesperson Lt-Col Kelebogile Thepa said this came after a complaint by neighbours about the noise that apparently disturbed the peace.
“The SPCA issued a notice to the owner due to the wolves appearing to be underweight and their poor living conditions. The environmental health department also issued a notification letter to request for a decrease in the nuisance caused by the animals,” Thepa said.
Myburgh told TimesLIVE Premium that the animals are well fed and in good health, and that the inspectors have never returned.
The wolves eat raw meat and high-protein food and go for deworming and check-ups at a vet.
Despite being an avid exotic animal lover and previously selling exotic birds, he said he is against the ownership of wild cats and predators as pets as they pose a risk to human life.
“A tiger is a predator and a highly dangerous one. When a tiger is born, its claws are already so sharp that they can pierce human skin. A tiger is completely deadly at six months, and I don’t believe in having such deadly animals.
“Absolute Exotics SA is a sustainable business, and we are able to reach our market and our goals. We are not making millions, but we are able to run our rescue programme, and if any customer calls us, we immediately get on to it and get the person the right resources,” he said.
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