Shedd Aquarium Shedd Aquarium

[pinnipedpal93]

I haven't been to Shedd in quite some time, but one of the things I remember is that the sea lions had just arrived and there were two. It seemed like a bit of a cramped area for them, but I was under the impression it was a temporary habitat. Has anything changed since their arrival a few years ago? Reading some of these posts makes it sound like there's only one now.

 

[birdsandbats]

I haven't been to Shedd in quite some time, but one of the things I remember is that the sea lions had just arrived and there were two. It seemed like a bit of a cramped area for them, but I was under the impression it was a temporary habitat. Has anything changed since their arrival a few years ago? Reading some of these posts makes it sound like there's only one now.

Nothing's changed as far as on-exhibit space goes, though there has been an extensive off-show area added. They still have two but only one is ever on exhibit at a time, the other is either behind the scenes or participating in the dolphin show at any given time.

 

[MeiLover]

Nothing's changed as far as on-exhibit space goes, though there has been an extensive off-show area added. They still have two but only one is ever on exhibit at a time, the other is either behind the scenes or participating in the dolphin show at any given time.

There are at least three that I know of; Charger, his son Kenny, and one other sea lion who I’m not familiar with.

 

[zoologicus]

There are at least three that I know of; Charger, his son Kenny, and one other sea lion who I’m not familiar with.

Shedd had 5 male sea lions in February; Cruz, Charger, Tanner, Laguna, and Kenney

 

[Persephone]

The aquarium announced via Social Media that there are now 2 Juvenile Giant Sea Bass in the Kelp Forest Exhibit in the Oceans Gallery.

At just 47 pounds and 4 years old, they still have much growing to do so I'd imagine these two will be moving over to the new California Kelp Forest Tank that is opening in 2026 as apart of the master plan.

Just got out of the aquarium. Saw them there. I don’t know the composition of every tank so I’m not a great source for changes, but I didn’t see the Lionfish this time. Sees Cardinalfish have taken over the space. The two-spot octopus was off exhibit. The ducks in the Great Lakes Gallery were absent and unsigned. Seems like the only non-penguin bird is gone. Sea otters were also a no-show for me and I circled back a few times.

I happened to stumble into a lot of chats / tank cleanings. Really weird because I never intentionally attend them. The keepers gave some toys to the beluga while I was watching and all of them moved to the edge. Seemed they wanted food more than enrichment. One porpoised pretty high into the air and the keeper put her hand into their open mouth. Bold move, there.

The mesh was down on the sea lamprey exhibit and they were all resting on the bottom. Got to see their eyes, which was very fun.

General thoughts on the aquarium:

They do a good job mixing in appealing species with the rarities in the galleries. Almost every tank seemed like it had something visually interesting.

I still think most of the marine mammal exhibits are too small and they should really pick one cetacean or the other. I know it’s not ideal to lose a holder for either species, but the beluga exhibit looks really cramped.

I got to see the moray in the large tank by the cuttlefish gaping and trying to snap at fish. The fish were thoroughly unimpressed and started trying to bully the much larger moray. He got demoralized and went to laying flat on the ground.

The keeper at the shark tank chat explained that they can’t keep their Queensland grouper together because one would change sex and they’d have a lot of baby grouper. Happy pride month to these Queens(land groupers).

 

[ConcernedThirdParty]

While it has not been very long since the last overhaul; it does seem that the Oceanarium could use a reshuffle. If there was to be one thing removed, I would say the best option would be the sea lions. As frequently noted in this thread, it is an extremely underwhelming exhibit for one of the most commonly kept pinnipeds in the US. While the off-exhibit areas may allow for proper husbandry in spite of the lackluster viewing area, it seems like a poor allocation of resources for a facility of Shedd’s caliber.


As far as potential alternatives, I would love to see a truly large, 100,000 gallons+ cold water tank. It would maintain continuity with the arctic / near-arctic theme of the area and could show off some of the large incredible species rarely seen in aquariums like Giant Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) or maybe even Salmon Sharks (Lamna ditropis). A conversion like this could probably be done with minimal disruption to the rest of the Oceanarium and would have a relatively reasonable price tag.


I know the cetacean pools seem a bit small (and perhaps they are) but keep in mind the large “show tank” in the center is only actually used for shows for a few hours total every day. In between shows, the dolphins and Belugas are given alternating access to the space.


Shedd is somewhat restricted in its renovations by the historical landmark status of building (this mostly restricts changes to the exterior architecture), but they could potentially expand the pools into the central forested display of the area that would probably cost tens of millions and require shutting down the Oceanarium for close to 5-10 years and sending the animals elsewhere in the meantime.


Shedd is probably the best Beluga facility in the US. Other successful Beluga facilities like a chain I think is called something like OceanPlanet have become mired in more general controversies. Other generally well-regarded facilities have had major trouble keeping their Belugas alive, and have been largely unsuccessful starting breeding programs (I think one is named for either North Florida or East Alabama). There are even fewer facilities that keep Pacific White-sided Dolphins. In short, I can’t imagine Shedd trusting their entire cetacean collection to other facilities even temporarily.

 

[Ebirah766]

While it has not been very long since the last overhaul; it does seem that the Oceanarium could use a reshuffle. If there was to be one thing removed, I would say the best option would be the sea lions. As frequently noted in this thread, it is an extremely underwhelming exhibit for one of the most commonly kept pinnipeds in the US. While the off-exhibit areas may allow for proper husbandry in spite of the lackluster viewing area, it seems like a poor allocation of resources for a facility of Shedd’s caliber.


As far as potential alternatives, I would love to see a truly large, 100,000 gallons+ cold water tank. It would maintain continuity with the arctic / near-arctic theme of the area and could show off some of the large incredible species rarely seen in aquariums like Giant Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) or maybe even Salmon Sharks (Lamna ditropis). A conversion like this could probably be done with minimal disruption to the rest of the Oceanarium and would have a relatively reasonable price tag.


I know the cetacean pools seem a bit small (and perhaps they are) but keep in mind the large “show tank” in the center is only actually used for shows for a few hours total every day. In between shows, the dolphins and Belugas are given alternating access to the space.


Shedd is somewhat restricted in its renovations by the historical landmark status of building (this mostly restricts changes to the exterior architecture), but they could potentially expand the pools into the central forested display of the area that would probably cost tens of millions and require shutting down the Oceanarium for close to 5-10 years and sending the animals elsewhere in the meantime.


Shedd is probably the best Beluga facility in the US. Other successful Beluga facilities like a chain I think is called something like OceanPlanet have become mired in more general controversies. Other generally well-regarded facilities have had major trouble keeping their Belugas alive, and have been largely unsuccessful starting breeding programs (I think one is named for either North Florida or East Alabama). There are even fewer facilities that keep Pacific White-sided Dolphins. In short, I can’t imagine Shedd trusting their entire cetacean collection to other facilities even temporarily.

You know salmon sharks are pretty much impossible to keep alive in captivity right?

 

[ConcernedThirdParty]

You know salmon sharks are pretty much impossible to keep alive in captivity right?

I was unaware that anyone had given it any serious effort actually. Other than the occasional unplanned rescue, I have seen no attempts by major facilities.

I know they are in the same family (Lamnidae) as the Great Whites but they are much smaller and regularly come close to shore when following the salmon runs (hence the name Salmon Shark).

As I noted, most public aquariums seem to avoid major cold-water exhibits on the assumption that people won’t be interested; but I don’t see why an aquarium of Shedd’s caliber couldn’t do it with the proper planning. Coldwater species tent to be less colorful than tropical ones but are very interesting regardless.

There is a regular commercial fishing season for Salmon Sharks (and Giant Halibut) in Alaska so any collections could likely be drawn from that quota.

 

[CMTM]

I was unaware that anyone had given it any serious effort actually. Other than the occasional unplanned rescue, I have seen no attempts by major facilities.

I know they are in the same family (Lamnidae) as the Great Whites but they are much smaller and regularly come close to shore when following the salmon runs (hence the name Salmon Shark).

As I noted, most public aquariums seem to avoid major cold-water exhibits on the assumption that people won’t be interested; but I don’t see why an aquarium of Shedd’s caliber couldn’t do it with the proper planning. Coldwater species tent to be less colorful than tropical ones but are very interesting regardless.

There is a regular commercial fishing season for Salmon Sharks (and Giant Halibut) in Alaska so any collections could likely be drawn from that quota.

I think the hypothetical transport of a Lamnid to the midwest alone would make this functionally impossible.

Believe me, I would be lying if I said that I have not considered the very same idea of Shedd doing large coldwater elasmobranchs, specifically salmon sharks. But this is a species that we know absolutely nothing about husbandry wise. To go through the effort to plan and build an exhibit of the scale required for such an animal, without knowing if you'll be able to a) collect a healthy specimen in the desire size range, b) transport it over a thousand miles to your facility alive and well, c) care for said animal long term if it arrives alive, is simply too great a hypothetical for it to be remotely feasible. Especially given the species and it's relatives' limited but abysmal track record in human care.

Halibut would be feasible as they do pretty well in human care and husbandry protocols are already well established for the species. But, no one is going to spend the money on such a colossal project just to have animals that are simply not exciting to the average visitor.

Just my two cents.

 

[wild boar]

I know the cetacean pools seem a bit small (and perhaps they are) but keep in mind the large “show tank” in the center is only actually used for shows for a few hours total every day. In between shows, the dolphins and Belugas are given alternating access to the space.

Where are the dolphins held when the belugas are in the amphitheater pool?

they could potentially expand the pools into the central forested display of the area that would probably cost tens of millions and require shutting down the Oceanarium for close to 5-10 years and sending the animals elsewhere in the meantime.

I'm not particularly familiar with the Shedd Aquarium's finances, but "tens of millions" of dollars is seemingly perfectly well within the realm of possibility for the aquarium, given that they will have spent five-hundred million dollars on their Experience Evolution campaign by 2030.

Shedd is probably the best Beluga facility in the US. Other successful Beluga facilities like a chain I think is called something like OceanPlanet have become mired in more general controversies. Other generally well-regarded facilities have had major trouble keeping their Belugas alive, and have been largely unsuccessful starting breeding programs (I think one is named for either North Florida or East Alabama).

What are you talking about here?

In short, I can’t imagine Shedd trusting their entire cetacean collection to other facilities even temporarily.

This link might be of interest to you.
CHICAGO NEWS | ABC7 San Francisco | abc7news.com

There are a few zoos and aquariums in North America that would be capable of providing adequate temporary homes for the Shedd cetaceans, should the decision be made to renovate the exhibit and expand their pools. Other than the Mystic Aquarium, the Minnesota Zoo is proven to be capable of temporarily holding other zoo's dolphins and I have no doubt that the SeaWorld parks would be able to, as well.

 

[Persephone]

There is a second dolphin pool visible from beside the tide pool area above and in the first viewing window below. It’s much smaller than the amphitheater pool.

 

[ConcernedThirdParty]

I think the hypothetical transport of a Lamnid to the midwest alone would make this functionally impossible.

Believe me, I would be lying if I said that I have not considered the very same idea of Shedd doing large coldwater elasmobranchs, specifically salmon sharks. But this is a species that we know absolutely nothing about husbandry wise. To go through the effort to plan and build an exhibit of the scale required for such an animal, without knowing if you'll be able to a) collect a healthy specimen in the desire size range, b) transport it over a thousand miles to your facility alive and well, c) care for said animal long term if it arrives alive, is simply too great a hypothetical for it to be remotely feasible. Especially given the species and it's relatives' limited but abysmal track record in human care.

Halibut would be feasible as they do pretty well in human care and husbandry protocols are already well established for the species. But, no one is going to spend the money on such a colossal project just to have animals that are simply not exciting to the average visitor.

Just my two cents.

Salmon Sharks are definitely a fantasy species. While very difficult I think it *might* be possible; and if it were done successfully, I think people would be very excited to see the closest thing to a Great White successfully kept in an aquarium.

I do think the general idea of a large cold-water exhibit is a very viable one however. There are plenty of interesting species with achievable husbandry needs. While these species are largely unknown to the general public, that is what marketing campaigns are for; and isn’t the whole point of public aquariums to show people animals they aren’t already familiar with.

 

[ConcernedThirdParty]

Replying to @wild boar

The answer to your first question:
As @Persephone noted, Shedd’s Oceanarium has 3 main pools: one for the Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, one for the Belugas, and the show / activity pool. My understanding is that there are a couple of smaller pools for quarantine and medical care as well though I have not actually seen those.

Regarding your other questions:
I was trying to avoid making direct criticisms so I paraphrased the names of the other institutions, but what the heck. SeaWorld has a long-running, successful Beluga program but the company as a whole has spent the last decade mired in numerous other controversies. If you aren’t aware of these, spend some time in the SeaWorld archives on ZooChat. Regardless of whether they have been right or wrong in these issues, public sentiment has increasingly turned against them and many organizations with intact reputations have reduced dealings with them as a result. Shedd may or may not fall into this category, but anything that relates to captive Cetaceans is HIGHLY scrutinized by a variety of government agencies and private organizations (you could include the ZooChat community in this list).

Regardless of controversies, facilities outside of the US (Marineland Canada) would be out of the question for transfers due to the regulatory ninja-warrior obstacle course that would be necessary to do so; and that was before Canada moved to ban most the keeping of most Cetaceans.

That leaves two other Beluga facilities in the US to choose from. The most well known is probably the Georgia Aquarium (Georgia is north of Florida and east of Alabama). While Georgia is an incredible facility with a very solid reputation, its Beluga program has arguably been a disaster. Multiple unusual animal deaths combined with their effectively failed attempt to start a breeding program have created a giant stain on an otherwise sterling reputation.

The final facility, as you mentioned, is the Mystic aquarium in Connecticut. While it is another AZA accredited facility with an intact reputation and an established, successful Beluga program, it is the only other one. I knew they had previously held Shedd’s Belugas but was unaware the had taken the PWS Dolphins as well so thanks for pointing that out. The situation has changed in the last 14 years though. While they could likely take the Belugas again, I think that evolved care standards would likely prevent them from taking the Dolphins again though. There are also inherent risks with concentrating the population like that too.

Regarding other the Cetacean facilities like Minnesota, they are likely not as ready for it as you may think. Most such facilities (including Minnesota) have kept primarily warm-water tolerant species (usually Bottlenose Dolphins). Shedd’s keeps their cold-water Cetaceans at a comfy 50 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius). The cooling systems needed to achieve that level of cooling would cost millions to install in a facility that does not already have them. While it is possible for this to happen, it seems unlikely. But as you mentioned, the financial costs are the least of the problems with a transfer.

I have feeling that Shedd will release future plans for the Oceanarium as the current master plan nears completion, probably sometime in the next five – seven years. If they haven’t announced the next set of Oceanarium renovations by then, it will probably be a sign that they intend to discontinue their Cetacean program. While that would be a very unfortunate turn of events, it does seem to be the way things are trending currently.

 

[wild boar]

SeaWorld has a long-running, successful Beluga program but the company as a whole has spent the last decade mired in numerous other controversies. If you aren’t aware of these, spend some time in the SeaWorld archives on ZooChat. Regardless of whether they have been right or wrong in these issues, public sentiment has increasingly turned against them and many organizations with intact reputations have reduced dealings with them as a result. Shedd may or may not fall into this category, but anything that relates to captive Cetaceans is HIGHLY scrutinized by a variety of government agencies and private organizations (you could include the ZooChat community in this list).

As far as I'm aware, government agencies have not been an issue for the SeaWorld parks, but I suppose it is possible. I imagine the leadership of the Shedd Aquarium and most other cetacean institutions are privately aligned ideologically with SeaWorld. They might be decreasing dealings with the parks for public image, but even that seems somewhat unlikely. If the Shedd Aquarium announced an expansion of the cetacean pools and a temporary transfer of their pods to SeaWorld so that can happen, public reception would be supportive of the plan because the objective improves the cetaceans' lives long term.

Regardless of controversies, facilities outside of the US (Marineland Canada) would be out of the question for transfers due to the regulatory ninja-warrior obstacle course that would be necessary to do so; and that was before Canada moved to ban most the keeping of most Cetaceans.

That leaves two other Beluga facilities in the US to choose from. The most well known is probably the Georgia Aquarium (Georgia is north of Florida and east of Alabama). While Georgia is an incredible facility with a very solid reputation, its Beluga program has arguably been a disaster. Multiple unusual animal deaths combined with their effectively failed attempt to start a breeding program have created a giant stain on an otherwise sterling reputation.

There is no chance of cetaceans being sent to Canada. I doubt the Shedd Aquarium is equipped to take on all fifteen cetaceans or even just the seven Pacific white-sided dolphins or eight belugas.

The final facility, as you mentioned, is the Mystic aquarium in Connecticut. While it is another AZA accredited facility with an intact reputation and an established, successful Beluga program, it is the only other one. I knew they had previously held Shedd’s Belugas but was unaware the had taken the PWS Dolphins as well so thanks for pointing that out. The situation has changed in the last 14 years though. While they could likely take the Belugas again, I think that evolved care standards would likely prevent them from taking the Dolphins again though. There are also inherent risks with concentrating the population like that too.

I suspect that you are right about the inability to accept the dolphins, especially because the pod is substantially larger now. The Mystic Aquarium has two more belugas than at the time and the Shedd Aquarium has one more now, for a current total of thirteen. Sending the belugas to Connecticut would probably put a strain on the facility.

Regarding other the Cetacean facilities like Minnesota, they are likely not as ready for it as you may think. Most such facilities (including Minnesota) have kept primarily warm-water tolerant species (usually Bottlenose Dolphins). Shedd’s keeps their cold-water Cetaceans at a comfy 50 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius). The cooling systems needed to achieve that level of cooling would cost millions to install in a facility that does not already have them. While it is possible for this to happen, it seems unlikely. But as you mentioned, the financial costs are the least of the problems with a transfer.

Would the Shedd Aquarium fund the cooling systems at the Minnesota Zoo? Also, are you sure the Minnesota Zoo doesn't have adequate systems for temperature fluctuation?

 

[Ebirah766]

Salmon Sharks are definitely a fantasy species. While very difficult I think it *might* be possible; and if it were done successfully, I think people would be very excited to see the closest thing to a Great White successfully kept in an aquarium.

I do think the general idea of a large cold-water exhibit is a very viable one however. There are plenty of interesting species with achievable husbandry needs. While these species are largely unknown to the general public, that is what marketing campaigns are for; and isn’t the whole point of public aquariums to show people animals they aren’t already familiar with.

The problem is is that chilling aquariums is so much more expensive than heating them. That's why few aquariums even have large coldwater displays, outside of the really big aquariums.

 

[ConcernedThirdParty]

Would the Shedd Aquarium fund the cooling systems at the Minnesota Zoo? Also, are you sure the Minnesota Zoo doesn't have adequate systems for temperature fluctuation?

Possibly, but as @Ebirah766 just pointed out in our discussion about cold-water aquatics more generally, cooling is much more expensive than heating.

As someone who works extensively with aquatics in the pet care / small business display industry, cooling is the number one obstacle to proper husbandry of some of the most popular aquatics, particularly saltwater species and axolotls.

Even temperate and tropical saltwater species often require temperatures lower than the average “room temperature” of 70 – 78 degrees Fahrenheit and any temperatures over 70 degrees can be dangerous to axolotls. A high quality 300-watt aquarium heater costs about $70 and might cost $100-200 annually to raise the temperature of a 90-gallon tank by 8 – 10 degrees. A cooler for that same 90 tank and 8-10 degree alteration would go for around $600-1000 initially and $200-400 in annual electricity costs.

I don’t work with tanks over 500 gallons but I expect that the costs would continue to scale similarly for the much larger tanks used by public aquariums. Arctic species like Belugas and the Salmon Sharks we were talking about earlier are generally kept at 50 degrees or lower. Depending on the season, that can be as much as 40-degree reduction needed. As far as I know, Minnesota as well as most other facilitates have never kept large species like this.

While they certainly have systems capable of that 8 – 10 degree cooling, I doubt they would be powerful enough to achieve the needed variances for arctic species. Shedd has leveraged the midwestern winters to reduce cooling costs by piping water outside when it is cold out but this doesn’t reduce the systems necessary to keep things under control in the summer.

Shedd might be willing to pay for the systems for Minnesota or another facility (they do certainly seem to be very well funded). It would also be prudent for there to be a nearby facility capable of taking their animals in case of an emergency.

Actually, now that I think about it, Brookfield Zoo Chicago would possibly be an even better candidate for temporary housing as it would allow the care staff easy access to both facilities. A multilateral transfer would likely be the only viable option.

 

[15399]

Does anyone know the timeline for when Amazon Rising will re-open?

 

[Ebirah766]

Does anyone know the timeline for when Amazon Rising will re-open?

I will be visiting in July and will give updates

 

[ConcernedThirdParty]

Does anyone know the timeline for when Amazon Rising will re-open?

Amazon Rising has always been my favorite gallery at Shedd, so I am currently planning to wait until it reopens to make another trek to Chicago. I have been tracking the progress though, so, here are a few status updates that some may have missed.

Multiple local news outlets reported around May 20th that Amazon Rising and Wonders of Water as both planned to open "later this year". That could certainly change though, if progress slows. A video of the progress was posted Shedd’s official social channels around the same time as well.

Shedd Aquarium reports progress on new hexhibit – NBC Chicago

In other Shedd news, last week, multiple local news outlets reported that ground breaking on the new education center was imminent with completion estimated in 2026. I would assume that this means that the shutdown and transfer process for Underwater Beauty is 100% complete as the education center is meant to occupy the space it previously occupied.

Shedd Aquarium announces new lakefront learning center, expanded outreach in South, West side neighborhoods

 

[Aelita]

Naya gave birth this past Wednesday to a calf! More information here: Shedd Aquarium on Instagram: " Baby beluga, oh baby beluga! 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."