Amazon Rising

Shedd Aquarium’s Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River

Shedd Aquarium’s Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River traces this great river — the world’s largest freshwater system— and the people who live along its shores through a normal year of heavy rains and receding floodwaters.

Amazon Rising reveals how animals and humans adapt to survive in this ever-changing ecosystem. Come nose-to-fangs with the dinner-plate-sized Goliath bird-eating spider. See the two-toed sloth that lives its life hanging upside down. Peek at the green anaconda, a snake that can reach 26 feet in length. Or learn about the arawana, a fish nicknamed “water monkey” because of its daring 3-foot leaps out of water.

Step into the exhibit and you are immersed in a region that spans nine South American countries. It is the low-water season, and the river is in its natural riverbanks. This dramatic re-creation introduces you to more than 250 species of animals, including piranhas, birds, sloths, insects, snakes, catfish, stingrays and caiman lizards. It is one of the most mysterious and diverse habitats on Earth.

As the low-water season ends, the rain begins to pour and the river floods. In a mere week, waters have crept up almost 6 feet. The river will flood to depths of up to 30 feet in places, sending water and fish deep into the adjacent forest.

Riverbanks expand nearly 20 miles, and canoes become the main mode of travel for ribereños, the people who live along the river. People move into the upper levels of their homes, which are built on stilts. It can rain for weeks.

The 14 floor-to-skylight habitats of this 10,000-square-foot-exhibit plunge guests into this diverse ecosystem and its present-day challenges. Learn about the unique demands this region faces in balancing modern living with its rich biological heritage. By 2000, for example, one-half of the floodplain’s forest had been destroyed, leaving homes vulnerable to the river’s surging waters.