Shedd Aquarium's belugas are what they eat

It's the breakfast of champions but don't expect bacon and eggs on this menu.

In Shedd Aquarium's marine mammal kitchen, the menu is a variety of fish including herring, squid and capelin for its beluga whales.

During a recent visit, workers flew around the kitchen scrubbing stainless steel counters and hosing down surfaces. It was 9 a.m. and staff was cleaning up after coming in around 5 a.m. to prepare all the food required to satisfy the eight whales.

And that's just breakfast. At 9:30 a.m., the kitchen crew will start all over again.

"It's a nonstop process," said Ken Ramirez, Shedd's senior vice president of animal collections and training.

He's proud of the cleanliness of the kitchens, explaining "I invite any health inspector to come in and look at our kitchens and I bet they're cleaner than any kitchen they inspect for people food.

"You won't find a scale left on our sinks or in our buckets. If a fish falls on the floor, it gets thrown out."

The marine mammal kitchen is one of six that serve the 32,000 animals at the aquarium including freshwater fish, saltwater fish and sharks.

Food prep is time-consuming because staff check fish individually to ensure it's in good condition with no lesions or abnormalities that could cause illness. One leading cause of death in the wild is parasite infection.

Fish are sorted, weighed and analyzed and the exact nutritional content is noted before the belugas chow down.

Most times, the marine mammal kitchen prepares 650 to 700 pounds of food a day but with some lactating moms to feed, such as beluga whale Puiji, they've upped the ante to 800 pounds.

Puiji's baby beluga may be about 400 pounds, but he's still nursing. The little whale, born Dec. 14, will start experimenting with fish around the 6-month to 8-month mark, but will continue to nurse until he's 11/2 years old.

The Daily Herald and ABC 7 is joining with Shedd in a sweepstakes to name the beluga calf.

In the wild, a beluga's diet isn't as exclusive. Belugas are "opportunistic feeders," Ramirez said. The slower-moving whales aren't always able to catch up with their food, so they opt for fish of the same speed or ones at the bottom of the sea bed.

"We do a lot of things to try and exceed what they get in the wild," Ramirez said.

Shedd obtains its fish from sustainable sources and encourages visitors to do the same. A list of environmentally friendly seafood that explains overfishing and offers ideas about what to eat is available at sheddaquarium.org/pdf/Shedd seafood wallet card 2009-2010.pdf.