Sheena, the cute potato

By Gregory Rodriguez

Sometimes chimps rescued from labs can be a little bit of a handful. When Sheena first arrived, she was known for flinging poop at her caregivers! Although that’s not the only peculiarity about Sheena.

She has recently started this new habit we’ve connotated as “potatoing”, giving her the title of Sheena the Potato. Fred Rubio, a caregiver at the sanctuary, shares his insight on the new habit she’s picked up in this blog.

Who is Sheena the Potato?

Sheena is the second oldest female in the sanctuary! She can be a little stubborn during recall and is often the last to come inside.

“Potatoing”

One day while Fred and the other caregivers were looking for Sheena, they found her outside the habitat with all her legs and arms tucked in, making her look like, well, a potato. Chimps have interesting human-like habits, but this one seems to get a chuckle out of everyone.

Most of the time Sheena has no rhyme or reason as to why she turns into a potato. She can go from sitting up to smooth potato in a matter of seconds and it’s always at random. Fred and others have her sitting upright and then quite dramatically fall over and curl up as if she’s passed out!

Just the other day, Sheena had passed out in the potato position in the tunnel that leads from the forested habitat to the indoor bedrooms. No place seems to be safe from Sheena the Potato.

Potato chimps

Now that the term “potatoing” is part of the sanctuary’s lexicon, it’s not uncommon to find notes written in the daily logs stating this chimp or that was potatoing today. But Sheena is the master at this move.

Sheena is shy. But she’s come a long way, originally only hanging out with the other females. She met the males slowly in her group and now seems to like their company. This habit of hers seems like something she’d only be able to do in a relaxed, low stress, environment like our sanctuary!

You can make sure Sheena stays comfortable and safe by donating today!