Sheena, Sanctuary Veteran + Training All Star

Chimp Haven’s “Warrior Princess” Sheena arrived in April of 2005, which means she’s tied with Sara Soda as the sanctuary’s longest-running retiree.

Sheena was born in 1988, so she’s considered geriatric in chimpanzee years. Her older age hasn’t hindered her “Chimp Life” a bit – she loves good food, good naps, and good friends!

Over the years, Sheena has been a great welcoming committee to all the friends she’s met since arriving. She really prioritizes her relationships and builds them through regular grooming sessions. If a chimp in her family group isn’t feeling well, she is always by their side. When it’s nap time, though, she likes a quiet spot in the shade or in the corner of her favorite bedroom.

Sheena loves cloth enrichment items. She will toss a scarf over her shoulder to carry it around with her for days. Often when she comes over to train with me, she’ll pull out a satin fabric hidden in her “hip pocket” (the inner hip area can hold a small object if you’re careful) and present it to me with hopes of me giving her a snack in return… which I do, and then I give her the fabric back.

“Give” is an important behavior for our chimps to know in case they get ahold of something they shouldn’t have. Sheena runs a hard bargain for an item she knows has worth and will wait until you have a handful of fruit snacks before starting her negotiations.

Like most of our chimps, Sheena loves to train. I’ve been her primary trainer for a number of years, and we’ve gotten into the habit of training with one another across the habitat, closer to where the moat is. It’s gotten to the point where if she sees me with training gear, she will immediately turn around and head that direction. It would break my heart for me to unknowingly stand her up, so I make sure that if I train with anyone in the group, I’ll also train with her to cover my bases.

Training with Sheena happens to be the most peaceful time I get at the sanctuary. In a place of loud pant hoots and food grunts, our sessions are almost quiet. Sheena is deaf so it sounds a bit different from my training sessions with other chimps.

Traditionally, I “cue” or ask for a behavior with both a visual cue (like putting my hand up) and an auditory cue (like saying “hand”). Then, I use a clicker to communicate clearly and with precision when the chimp has done what I asked them to (putting their hand up).

The clicker creates a bridge from the moment they successfully perform a behavior to the moment they receive their reinforcer, or treat. For Sheena, most of the training looks the same: I use a long-handled spoon or bamboo stick to help encourage new body presentations and shape them over time and with lots of snacks!

But since Sheena is deaf, I don’t perform an auditory cue, and I don’t use a clicker. Instead I use a thumbs up! Even if she has to turn away for something like “back” or “ear,” I can still communicate with her by using a “tactile bridge” which is a light tap using the long-handled spoon to mean the same thing as a click.

Sheena’s caregivers also adapted group training by using visual cues for her (a bright orange frisbee) when the rest of her social group hears an auditory cue (a siren tone). In the case of an emergency, like a big storm, we work with groups to come inside quickly when they hear a specific sound (or, for Sheena, see an orange frisbee). For some groups this can be done in less than 30 seconds, which is very impressive!

Sheena is very observant, so she usually takes hints in her social environment. When she sees everyone getting excited and heading inside, or sees her caregivers pulling up with a bunch of snacks, she knows the drill. A couple times during practice sessions, she was away from the group, so she had no idea we were looking for her. Once she saw her bright orange frisbee, though, she went charging to her bedrooms to join her friends and get her jackpot snack and forage!

Sheena is beloved by chimps and staff alike. We’re so lucky that she has spent 20 years with us at Chimp Haven living her best retirement, and we look forward to many more!

Sarah Modlin

Behavior Specialist