In 2026, Shedd Aquarium became a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), deepening our commitment to bolster biodiversity and advance conservation on a global scale. Shedd’s membership builds on a long-standing history of collaboration with the IUCN, including hosting the first ever Center for Species Survival: Freshwater.

As an IUCN member, we have an even greater opportunity to help shape global conservation priorities, collaborate with leading organizations worldwide and elevate species conservation. Together, alongside like-minded organizations, we can drive a collective impact to protect the water that connects us all.

Shedd is one of the founding partners in ReShark, an international collective dedicated to shark and ray rewilding and conservation. As part of its inaugural StAR project, endangered zebra shark pups are raised and released in Raja Ampat, Indonesia to bolster the population in their native range.

Healthy populations of zebra sharks are essential to maintain thriving ecosystems in the Indian and west-central Pacific Oceans. But in recent years, zebra shark populations have quickly and dramatically declined due to habitat degradation, overharvesting and finning. Zebra sharks, like many shark species, take years to reach sexual maturity which slows populations from naturally growing.

Tackling this challenge takes coordination from across the world. Zebra sharks in aquariums breed and lay eggs. After ensuring the eggs are healthy and genetically viable, they are transported across the globe to hatcheries in Indonesia. Once there, local teams manage and care for the eggs and pups, encouraging survival and foraging behaviors. When they are old enough, pups are tagged for monitoring purposes and released into a Marine Protected Area (MPA).

Shedd experts, including members of our Conservation Research and Animal Care teams, have lent their decades of expertise in the breeding, hatching, raising and post-release monitoring of zebra shark pups to develop the project and train the dedicated team of in-country caretakers and research scientists. Read more about the plan to save endangered zebra sharks.

Turns out, you can learn a lot from penguin poop. Shedd is exploring new methods to collect and analyze penguin poop, called guano, to determine the diets of Magellanic penguins in Patagonia, Argentina. In doing so, experts hope to discover their primary food sources and inform management plans to protect them.

As waters warm due to climate change, higher-quality food sources for this population of Magellanic penguins have shifted farther offshore, meaning penguins might be switching food sources or traveling longer distances to hunt for more nutritious, fatty meals. Access to quality food sources, and how often they can eat for themselves and feed their offspring, is directly related to the health of the population and can affect their ability to thrive and reproduce.

Collecting and analyzing guano can tell us what a penguin ate, thanks to traces of plant and animal DNA that remain after digestion. Once analyzed in the lab, this work can advance both the understanding of penguins and potentially provide protection for penguin prey.

Each year, members of Shedd’s animal care team travel to Patagonia to monitor the penguin colony and collect fecal samples from the wild population for future analysis.

Back at Shedd, scientists in our Molecular Ecology and Conservation Labs sequence DNA within the samples to pinpoint what the penguin ate. Shedd scientists also helped determine the best way to store and transport the penguin fecal samples. It will take several years of data to get a better idea of the penguins’ diets and how changes in the environment could be impacting their prey availability. The results of this effort will inform future protections for these food sources.

Shedd is working on this project in collaboration with researchers at UC Davis from The Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center’s Latin America Program and the Argentinian National Research Council’s Center for the Study of Marine Systems (CESIMAR-CONICET) to also grow capacity for this work in-country.

You can read more about the important work being done in Patagonia.

Worldwide, beluga whale species numbers are in the thousands, but subpopulations like in Alaska’s Cook Inlet and Canada’s St. Lawrence Estuary are listed as endangered or critically endangered.

Shedd is a founding partner and has for several years participated in and shared our expertise through an event hosted by NOAA Fisheries called Belugas Count!, a day of public support and education inspired by an annual census of the Cook Inlet population, which is currently estimated at fewer than 300 whales.

Shedd staff travel to Alaska to man viewing stations to help attendees spot belugas and talk to the public about the importance of this species to their environment. They also share information about the beluga pod at Shedd and how we connect them with guests from Chicago and around the world.

Beluga whales are vulnerable to many stressors including habitat degradation, pollution, noise levels, warming oceans and more. Events like these bring greater awareness to beluga whales and allows Shedd and partners to advocate for legislation and policy enhancements, informed by science, that help to combat the growing list of threats that challenge belugas and other aquatic life.

For more than 30 years, Shedd and accredited partners have also contributed to research on behalf of these extraordinary marine mammals to better understand their biology, behaviors, reproduction, immune function and more. These findings have built the foundation of our current scientific understanding of belugas and may help chart a healthier future for subpopulations like the belugas of the Cook Inlet.

Learn more about the beluga whale pod at Shedd.

Did you know that there is a “busy season” for animal rescues? On the west coast, that happens to be in the spring, when marine mammals like walruses, sea lions, seals and more can sometimes be found sick or stranded along the Pacific beaches. When that happens, Shedd is ready to provide support on the coastline of California. Shedd works in partnership with Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI), a nonprofit organization that leads year-round efforts responding to wildlife in need.

As waters continue to warm due to climate change, it can cause the main food source of California pinnipeds – seals and sea lions – to move, causing mothers to leave pups longer to hunt for food. Another harmful effect of warming water is that it fuels pervasive algal blooms. These algae release a neurotoxin that builds up in the food web and can cause predators like seals and sea lions to become sick and disoriented.

As these animals face threats, facilities like CIMWI provide necessary care to ensure their survival. But they can often get overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals in need.

In previous years, Shedd caretakers have been deployed as additional support. These experts respond to rescue calls, assist with food prep and feeding, administer medication and help release animals that have made a full recovery.

The bowmouth guitarfish is a critically endangered shark-ray species that scientists believe to be one of the world’s most vulnerable and evolutionarily distinct jawed vertebrates on the planet. But despite their conservation status, very little is known about them, and no global conservation strategy has been developed.

Shedd Aquarium hosted a workshop in 2023 to change this, resulting in the formation of an emerging international consortium of shark and ray experts focused on creating a global conservation and recovery plan for the species.

This collective has determined that aquariums have a meaningful role in fueling conservation for the species. By collaborating on conservation research and best practices for advancing the health and wellbeing of bowmouth guitarfish in aquariums around the world, including rescued bowmouth guitarfish here at Shedd, this collective aims to expand our scientific understanding of the species and contribute to recovery efforts in the wild. With their large public platforms, aquariums can also work together to educate the public and reduce mounting pressures like industrial fishing and habitat loss currently happening in the wild.

You don’t have to be a scientist or an animal care expert to help penguins, sharks, belugas and more. You just need to care! With combined effort, we can work together to create blue futures for all aquatic life.

Educating yourself about climate change, getting active in your community and sharing stories about nature are powerful ways you can use your voice and influence to make a difference.

Supporting Shedd through a visit, membership or a donation also helps to accelerate our work with partners around the globe to achieve a world thriving with aquatic life, sustained by people who love, understand and protect it.