Among the first students are groups of sharks, a 1.2-meter, 67.5-kilogram Queensland grouper named Bubba, and a 1.2-meter, 22.5-kilogram blue Napoleon wrasse, a species that has blue blood and the ability to change its sex.
"What we're trying is probably the most complex training effort ever attempted with fish," said Bert Vescolani, vice president for the Shedd's aquarium collections.
Rachel Wilborn, a Shedd worker, recently used a mechanical clicker to catch the attention of some of her pupils, three zebra sharks named Freckles, Blondie and Seymour. "They come right up to the side and ask for food, but to get it, they have to touch a target, which is a rubber bulb on the end of a pole with their snouts," Wilborn said. The three bumped the bulb and got tuna steaks as their reward.