(gentle music) - Just hanging out with the guitarfish here and the sharks.

The Shedd Aquarium is one of the most popular attractions in Chicago.

This is what 2 million people a year see.

Let's check out what they don't see.

As the sun rises hours before guests arrive, it's breakfast time for the Shedd Aquarium's beluga whales, and they have big appetites.

Senior trainer Angie Soliai makes sure each whale gets exactly the right amount of their favorite frozen seafood.

Who's this for?

- This is for Kimalu.

- Kimalu.

Okay.

- In there.

(bucket clattering) Perfect.

We are gonna do herring for Annik, and he gets 10 kilos.

- [Geoffrey] Wow.

(fish clattering) You definitely have to not mind fish smell, right?

- I mean, after a while you just don't smell it anymore.

For sure.

- It's a squid.

(laughs) Oh my gosh!

I'm gonna have nightmares.

(upbeat music) Now comes the fun part.

(whale squeaking) There you go.

- There you go.

- All right, here, just take the whole bunch there.

There you go.

- Very nice.

- [Geoffrey] Michele August is one of many Shedd trainers who spend hours each day bonding with the belugas.

- How we doing?

(whale squeaking) They understand what we're asking based on how we move our hands and bodies.

- Oh my gosh!

- Nice job, buddy.

Do you wanna try giving him a hand signal?

- What do I do?

- You're gonna take your right hand and you're gonna pretend like you're pulling down on a string, okay?

- Okay.

- All right.

- Right now?

- Go ahead, right now.

(whale trumpeting) Yeah!

Good job!

- Oh my gosh!

- Very nice.

Very nice.

- Now, that's not just for putting on a show, right?

- Right.

Our number one reason for training them is so that we can take better care of them.

So in a position like this, if you wanna step forward a little bit more.

- Uh-huh.

Okay.

- I'm gonna tip him on his side.

So in this position, we could actually do a voluntary ultrasound exam.

- [Geoffrey] Belugas are salt water creatures, but the Shedd sits on the shores of Lake Michigan.

So where do you get millions of gallons of salt water when you're 800 miles from the nearest ocean?

Well, back when the Shedd opened in 1930, salt water was imported from Key West, Florida on railroad tank cars.

They ran on a dedicated track through what is now the museum campus.

Today, the Shedd makes its own seawater using the same product you can buy in pet stores, except they buy it in one ton bags.

Operator Maurice Smith makes 9,000 gallons a day.

That's a hazard of the job, right?

- [Maurice] Yes it is.

- [Geoffrey] So you don't have high blood pressure, do you?

- No.

(laughs) - [Geoffrey] It's a bad job for somebody with high blood pressure.

- Yes it is.

Yes it is.

- That much salt.

You have an aquarium at home?

- Yes.

Yes.

- You do?

- Well, that's what kind of, I was happy to come here because I've had aquariums since I was a little kid.

- Oh really?

- Yeah.

Since I was like about five or six, my dad brought a tank home, and I've been in love with fish ever since.

So coming here was like a dream.

And when we change water from a fish system, we can send it to the oceanarium.

- [Geoffrey] Maurice also monitors the computers that control a huge network of pumps and valves, distributing that seawater throughout the aquarium.

Just like the Shedd's visitors, these aquatic animals have no idea about all the systems behind the scenes that allow them to thrive, but they do know those curious human creatures who shower them with love and food every day.

Have you always been interested in animals?

- Absolutely, yeah, I was definitely an animal person from the very beginning.

- [Geoffrey] You seem to just love.

- I do.

There's nothing quite like them.

It's very special.

(bright music)