Beluga calves: Mauyak gave birth to a male calf on Aug. 16, 2007. A partner in the North America beluga breeding cooperative, Shedd has had three other successful beluga births in the last eight years: Kayavak, Qannik (now at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington) and Bella, the female born to Puiji last year.
Caiman lizard babies: More 28 caiman lizard babies have hatched at Shedd since 2005. Shedd became the first North American zoo or aquarium to successfully breed these rare animals.
Bluespot stingray pups: Two bluespot stingray pups were born at Shedd in 2006 — the first known births in this species in a public aquarium.
Shark pups: Shedd’s prolific zebra sharks have laid several hundred eggs! Another species, the white-spotted bamboo shark, has also bred successfully at the aquarium. This animal is listed as “near threatened” in the wild.
Penguin chicks: Shedd’s two penguin groups — gentoos and rockhoppers — have successfully hatched and raised 60 chicks since the breeding program started in 1991.
Coral colonies: Nearly 140 colonies of the delicate elkhorn coral have been propagated at Shedd. What makes this a unique achievement is that these fragile coral colonies were started from larvae instead of the more traditional method of propagation from coral fragments.
How you can help
We invite you to make an additional gift, above and beyond your annual contribution, to support our breeding programs and help us to continue our leadership role in advancing aquatic conservation and animal care.
Gifts at all levels are important.
Donors at all giving levels will be recognized with a special listing in our newsletter and will receive all benefits for their total level of giving for this year.
Special opportunity at the $5,000 and $2,500 giving levels:
- In honor of the two recent beluga calf births at Shedd, we are excited to provide donors at the $5,000+ level with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to participate in a beluga play session where you will be up close with a beluga (1/yr).
- Donors at the $2,500+ level will have the opportunity to schedule a personal behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium (1/yr).
- All donors at the $1,500+ levels will receive an invitation to a special dinner with our some of our marine mammal trainers and animal-health experts and will receive one full year of Aquarium Council benefits.
For questions about making your gift in installments or any other information, please contact Usha Subramanian, director of individual gifts, at 312-692-3281 or usubramanian@sheddaquarium.org
Thank you for helping us breed success!
Click here to make a contribution.
