Abbott Oceanarium

The Abbott Oceanarium is a 3-million-gallon recreation of a Pacific Northwest coastal ecosystem, home to beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, sea otters, and harbor seals. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide stunning views of Lake Michigan beyond the animals, creating the illusion of a continuous waterscape stretching to the horizon.

Beluga whales are among the most vocal of all cetaceans, communicating with a complex repertoire of clicks, whistles, and chirps that earned them the nickname 'canaries of the sea.' Shedd's beluga and dolphin research programs contribute to the global understanding of marine mammal cognition and behavior.