Shedd Aquarium

As we conclude Vet Tech Week, we invite you to join us in extending a huge thank you to our incredible veterinary technicians! 🩺 Shelley Lexi Emma Della Richard Their dedication, compassion and expertise keep the animals healthy and happy every day. We appreciate all that you do!

Shedd Aquarium recognizes and honors Indigenous Peoples as the first stewards of the land and water here in our Great Lakes region. We encourage others to love, understand and protect our natural spaces as they still do today. This dedication to our shared blue planet resonates with our own mission to spark compassion, curiosity and conservation for the aquatic animal world.

As we conclude Mes de la Herecia Hispana, Doctora Yasmín Quintana shares about our work as an IUCN Species Survival Commission Center for Species Survival: Freshwater in Central America inspiring the next generation of scientists to take an active role in freshwater conservation. Learn more about this work — https://bit.ly/486CHMP.

We are entering our Amazon Rising era, bringing guests eye-to-eye with an array of animals that inhabit this biodiversity hotspot. Tune into the sounds of the Amazon rainforest, from rumbling thunder and bird calls to the sharp clap of an arapaima’s bony tongue crushing its prey. View the world through the eyes of the green anaconda’s thermal vision. Experience the pulse of electric eels' high and low voltage electrical charges in the water. Trace the richly detailed scales of the dwarf caiman and discover the lifelike textures of 12 new tactile models, each inviting you to become hands-on with nature. Uncover new ways to become better stewards of our shared blue planet. Experience it for yourself, get tickets — https://bit.ly/3NbTLHo.

Dive beneath the turquoise waves of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for an impromptu underwater view captured during our fieldwork. These stunning images feature green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, eagle rays, bonnethead sharks and other animals as they pass by, stopping to graze on seagrass or eat queen conch. These images were captured during an ongoing research project to collect data to determine common predators of young queen conch and better describe their natural mortality in queen conch nursery areas, vital habitats for these threatened snails and other organisms. We are conducting this audio and visual research in partnership with scientists from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Florida Atlantic University and University of Texas Marine Science Institute. Photo Credit: Shedd Aquarium, Florida Atlantic University and University of Texas

BIG beluga news! We are joyously welcoming the newest member of the beluga whale pod at Shedd, born shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24, to mother, Naya. Mom and calf are doing well behind the scenes, with round-the-clock care from our veterinary and animal care teams. The calf is estimated to be 5 feet long and close to 105 pounds. The first few months of a beluga calf’s life are vital, and Shedd’s animal care team remains cautiously optimistic. For the next few weeks, caretakers will be watching day and night, observing the calf for important milestones, like regular nursing of mom’s fat-rich milk, rapid weight gain, bonding and swimming with mom – also called slipstreaming. To allow time and space for these vital milestones and observations, Shedd’s Secluded Bay habitat will stay temporarily closed. Beluga whale births are rarely seen in the wild. Observing them here at Shedd helps us collect data on the biology and behaviors associated with beluga whale pregnancy, birth and infancy. These invaluable insights help us to make well-informed, science-driven recommendations to safeguard some of the world’s most vulnerable beluga whale subpopulations in the wild. Stay tuned for more updates on calf and mom in the days to come, including when guests might get a peek at the new baby! We are thrilled to take you on this journey with us.

Today, alongside our partners at the Aquarium Conservation Partnership, we are celebrating a huge win for our shared blue planet, and what better time to announce it than during Plastic Free July? The Biden-Harris administration released the first-ever federal report outlining a comprehensive U.S. approach to addressing plastic pollution – one of the largest challenges facing aquatic animals, environments and the communities that depend on them. We all have a role to play in turning the tide on plastic pollution, and today’s announcement demonstrates a big step forward toward healthier, blue futures for us all. Learn more about this plan to eliminate single-use plastics — https://bit.ly/3SgtBGi

Get ready to rockhop with excitement — we've got double the news! We are welcoming two new southern rockhopper penguin chicks to the colony at Shedd and are excited to share all about them with you! - The young birds hatched just days apart on June 18 and June 20. - They weigh nearly three pounds and are growing fast! - Both chicks are being raised by their biological parents — one chick by first-time parents, Bosco and Tussock, and the second by Edward and Annie. - Yes, that means Wellington has another grandchick! - The Animal Care team is providing both sets of parents with supplemental food throughout the day to keep their energy levels high and ensure they have plenty of food to provide their chicks. - The chicks can be seen in neighboring nests on exhibit in Polar Play Zone! The first few months of life can be crucial for the development of young penguins, so the Animal Care team is keeping a watchful eye on the new arrivals and remains cautiously optimistic. Stay tuned for more chick check-ins!

Happy Shark and Ray Awareness Day! While seeing a shark dorsal fin might send swimmers to shore, sharks are usually more scared of us than we are of them! These incredible predators are often misunderstood. Sharks are crucial to their habitats, playing a key role in maintaining balance in aquatic ecosystems. The global populations of oceanic sharks and rays have decreased by 71% over the past 50 years, primarily due to overfishing. Shedd Aquarium and our partners, like The Shark Trust, are speaking up for their survival — and you can, too! Sign the Big Shark Pledge to add your voice to the ocean of advocates vowing to protect high-seas sharks and rays — https://lnkd.in/g2ww5VXv.

It’s Plastic Free July! Plastic pollution is an issue that threatens the health of wildlife, their habitats and greenspaces for people to connect to nature. About 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year! Large plastic items discarded on beaches such as single-use bags, straws, wrappers, takeout containers and utensils eventually fragment into smaller plastic particles that cannot be filtered from our water and can enter animal and human bloodstreams. We are making a difference by reducing our plastic footprint, advocating for meaningful policy changes, supporting local restaurants with plastic reduction efforts and leading volunteers in coastal cleanups around Chicago. But we cannot do it alone, and collective action is critical to tackling plastic pollution! Join us in reducing your plastic footprint, too, by playing Plastic Free July Bingo! Take a screenshot of our Plastic Free July bingo card and fill it out as you participate in plastic reduction efforts throughout the month! Post your bingo card and tag us to encourage your friends and family to join. Also, visit our Let’s Shedd Plastic page to discover our Let’s Shedd Plastic restaurant partners and resources to help you fill out your bingo card — https://bit.ly/3VXy2XP.