Belugas and Gulls

Our belugas are doing well and are adapting to their new areas at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. The biggest novelty for them is living in outdoor pools. They don’t seem to like rain, but the omnipresent gulls in this seaport are a fascinating new phenomenon to most of them. The gulls swoop down toward the pool during feeding sessions to try to get the fish, and their flight patterns startle some of the whales. But the funniest thing I’ve experienced so far was when a gull was floating in the beluga habitat, its legs dangling in the water. Kayavak, our 9-year-old female, saw the gull and the dangling feet, and she probably assumed that it was a new toy that we were offering. She hovered under the bird, getting closer and closer, and she even opened her mouth, as she does with many toys. But something about the feet and the gull must have seemed different because she never actually grabbed the bird. But she was sure curious! I wonder what would have happened had she grabbed the gull’s feet.

Posted by Ken Ramirez, animal collections and training

Biology in the Bahamas

I cannot sum up “Biology in the Bahamas” as part of Shedd’s Teacher Field Experience in a couple paragraphs and do it proper justice. The entire trip was filled with such a gamut of experiences. The sheer beauty and wonder of the underwater world was intense. We learned an impressive amount about the Bimini area, its geology, vegetation and fauna, both native and invasive. While the Bahamas were unforgettable, the pre- and post-trip classes were equally engaging and packed full of pertinent information. The staff did quite an excellent job at building a cohesive team of teachers while insuring we had the necessary background material so that we would get the most out of our trip.

Preventive Health Care for Sharks

Preventive health care plays an important part in keeping our resident collection healthy. Recently, we performed routine wellness examinations on four of our blacktip reef sharks from the Wild Reef habitat.

The day started early with Fishes staff members moving the four sharks from the 400,000-gallon exhibit to the adjoining medical pool. A net deployed and moved by scuba divers along the tank bottom concentrated the sharks near the entrance to the medical pool, where the sharks were individually identified before being moved, one-by-one, into the pool. There the sharks were sedated with a water-soluble anesthetic which was dissolved inside a floating inflatable pool filled with exhibit water.

Then the fish were moved to a special transport on the service deck for the examination. While the sharks’ respiration and heart rates were monitored and they were ventilated with oxygenated anesthetic water, the veterinary and husbandry teams took measurements, collected blood and cloacal washes, evaluated fins, skin, gills, eyes, mouth and body condition and performed cardiac and coelomic ultrasounds.

Climate Action Plan

We were thrilled today to attend the Climate Action Plan press conference on Chicago's Museum Campus. Shedd's CEO, Ted Beattie, shared the exciting news that by making a few green changes Shedd has cut our energy bill by 78%!  (Learn more about Shedd's green practices.) Mayor Daley reminded us that he made a commitment to transform Chicago into the most environmentally city in the nation. Today, Chicago is one of the greenest cities but we have a long way to go. The Climate Action Plan he outlined today offers a blueprint to businesses and individuals on how they can reduce their carbon emissions and also save money. This will be hard work and will require the cooperation of government, businesses and individuals. Together I believe that we can reach the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 25% by the year 2020. What are your thoughts about the Climate Action Plan?

Posted by Michelle Jost, conservation

Shark Eggs

We have three bamboo shark eggs developing on exhibit in Wild Reef. Check them out in the lagoon area. No joke -– the big round object in each egg is the yolk sac. The eggs incubate in about 128 days at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The incubation period is temperature-dependent. While you’re in Wild Reef, be sure to see the juvenile saddleback clownfish that were born at Shedd. You’ll find them in one of the small square habitats between the sharks and the lagoon. The littlest fish is about three-quarters of an inch long. But see them soon –- they’re growing fast!

Posted by George Parsons, fishes   

Photographing Sharks

Ever wonder how we get those up-close and personal photos of the sharks, rays and other fishes in Wild Reef? By diving in with them. Shedd photographer Brenna Hernandez, a certified scuba diver, recently did a photo session in the 400,000-gallon Wild Reef shark habitat. (See a slide show of her pics.) We checked in with Brenna to find out what it’s like to work in the midst of the reef’s big predators.

Beluga Whale and Dolphin Transport

Shedd is pleased to announce that our seven beluga whales, four Pacific white-sided dolphins and twelve marine mammal staff members are doing well at their new, temporary home – the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration in Mystic, CT.

Ever wonder how we transport our precious cargo? Ken Ramirez, VP of animal collections and animal training at Shedd, gives us an inside look on the journey to Mystic.

Subscribe to this feed to get the latest on Shedd’s Oceanarium renovation.

Posted by Jay Geneske, web editor

Sea Otter Trainer Diary #1

Just because the belugas, dolphins, sea otters and other Oceanarium animals aren't on display at Shedd right now doesn't mean that you can't follow what they're doing. You can keep up to date with the animals and trainers with this Web diary series about all their doings off site. Check back here often for new entries, or subscribe to this page to guarantee you see it first.

In this entry, trainer Indya Watts talks about preparing the sea otters for the animal transport. 

Do you have questions for Indya or about the Oceanarium renovation? Make sure to comment below, and look for the answers in upcoming posts.

Posted by Jay Geneske, web editor

Beluga and Dolphin Trainer Diary #1

Just because the belugas, dolphins, sea otters and other Oceanarium animals aren't on display at Shedd right now doesn't mean that you can't follow what they're doing. You can keep up to date with the animals and trainers with this Web diary series about all their doings off site. Check back here often for new entries, or subscribe to this page to guarantee you see it first.

In this entry, trainer Madelynn Hettiger talks about preparing the beluga whales and dolphins for the animal transport. 

Do you have questions for Madelynn or about the Oceanarium renovation? Make sure to comment below, and look for the answers in upcoming posts.

Posted by Jay Geneske, web editor

Meet the Pet Show Pooches

Starting in October, regular dog-training presentations will show you how the techniques we use to train our dolphins and whales also work great with pets. Meet our new resident dogs:

Barney

An interesting mix of border collie and basset hound, this 3-year-old male is long but not too low to the ground. Barney was surrendered by his owner and came from the Anti-Cruelty Society.

Harley

The 2-year-old male black Lab was adopted from the Wright Way Rescue Organization, which rescues dogs in southern Illinois and brings them to adoption events in Chicago. Harley was given up by his owner. At 98 pounds, he’s the largest of the six dogs.

Nico

Another big boy, weighing about 70 pounds, the year-old American bulldog mix was found tied up in an abandoned building. He was adopted from Chicago Animal Care and Control.