Piquet’s calf has hit the milk milestone, beginning to nurse around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday and continuing about every 30 minutes since then. Until nursing starts, members of the animal care team can practically hear a clock ticking the minutes in their heads as they watch the calf swimming alongside mom, expending energy. That mom and calf made the lactation linkup less than 24 hours after the birth was a joy and a relief.
Piquet, her calf and Shedd’s cadre of animal care and animal health experts have had a busy day. Happily, most of the work on the part of Shedd’s staffers since 10:34 p.m. Monday, when the calf was born, has been watching the large and small dolphins swim and bond.
At 10:34 last night, we welcomed Pacific white-sided dolphin Piquet’s calf into the Shedd Aquarium family. Both mother and calf appear to be doing well. The calf immediately swam to the surface for its first breath, then began to swim and bond with Piquet (pee-KEHT). These are the first of many critical milestones the calf must achieve in the coming days and months; our animal care staffers are monitoring mom and calf around the clock, watching for continued bonding and the start of nursing.
Heads up—or maybe that’s heads out. Today is World Turtle Day, an annual observance established in 2000 to celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises around the world. Shedd’s chelonians (the collective term for turtles) include 33 marine, freshwater and terrestrial species, totaling 88 individuals, from nearly every major bioregion on Earth. Look for them by exhibit.
Comb jellies are back on view in the Jellies special exhibit. A new species to the exhibit, Mnemiopsis leidyi, is native to the temperate waters along the coasts of North and South America—our combs were collected off New England—but it has found its way by ship ballast water into the Black, Caspian and Mediterranean Seas. While combs are present in coastal waters throughout the year, says special exhibits collection manager Mark Schick, “good concentrations are sporadic, so availability is, too.”
The Jellies special exhibit has proved to be so popular that it’s been extended through 2013. Look for a rotation of species, including some surprises, along with our in-house favorites: the elegantly simple moons, frilly sea nettles and those inverted invertebrates, the upside-down jellies.
More than 1.1 million guests have been mesmerized by these diaphanous animals, which rhythmically pulse, gently drift on circulating currents, or even ricochet around their custom-crafted habitats.
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we’re highlighting two Mexican fishes, one large, one small, and both on view in the Rivers gallery.
The quetzal cichlid, says aquarist Steve Ehrlich, “is a beautiful fish named after a beautiful bird.” Its glittering pink, crimson, gold, vermilion, turquoise and black scales are the equal of the brilliantly hued iridescent plumage of the birds that figure in Mexican and Central American culture and mythology.
Last week, Scott McMurry finally received the long-lost postcard his mother sent from Shedd Aquarium in 1957. On Thursday, the Virginia man was welcomed to Shedd for a whirlwind first-time visit courtesy of the aquarium and its partners, Swissôtel Chicago and United Airlines–the official airline of Shedd Aquarium.
Your seafood choices can have a big impact on the health of our oceans and lakes—so make sure they’re positive ones! Every month, Shedd’s Right Bite team highlights a sustainable seafood selection that’s both good for you and good for our planet. The Fish of the Month for May is farmed arctic char, and I have a tasty dish to share—spring salad with maple-miso arctic char.
